Location registration method for mobile communication terminals, en bloc paging method for mobile communication terminals, and mobile communication system

ABSTRACT

A relay device installed in a moving unit can, by notifying an own identification number to a mobile communication network along with identification numbers of all mobile communication terminals subordinate to itself, perform en bloc updating of location registration area information of these mobile communication terminals. This relay device can receive an en bloc paging request wherein paging requests to plural subordinate mobile communication terminals are aggregated, reconstruct the received en bloc paging request, and transmit the paging requests to each of the mobile communication terminals subordinate to itself.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/182,926filed on Jul. 30, 2002, the entire content of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a location registration method formobile communication terminals, an en bloc paging method for mobilecommunication terminals, a mobile communication terminal, a relaydevice, a location information managing device, an en bloc pagingrequest generating device, a switch, a mobile communication network, anda mobile communication system.

It is known that with mobile communication services, generally, thelocations of mobile communication terminals such as cellular phones andthe like are stored in location information managing devices (so-calledlocation registers) so that the mobile communication terminals canterminate at any location. Specifically, an area where a mobilecommunication service is provided is divided into plural locationregistration areas, and upon a mobile communication terminal moving fromone location registration area to another location registration area, alocation registration request which determines the post-move locationregistration area is transmitted from the mobile communication terminalto the network. The location registration areas of each of the mobilecommunication terminals stored in the location information registrationdevice are sequentially updated, according to this location registrationrequest. Now, in the event that a termination request to a certainmobile communication terminal occurs, the stored contents of thelocation information managing device are referred to, which locationregistration area the subject mobile communication terminal belongs tois determined, an paging request is generated, and transmitted to thepaging destination mobile communication terminal, via a switch and basestations belonging to the determined location registration area.

However, in the event that a great number of passengers having mobilecommunication terminals are on a train or the like for example, thismeans that a great number of mobile communication terminalssimultaneously move together with the train. Accordingly, in the eventthat the train moves from one location registration area to anotherlocation registration area, location registration requests are sent fromthese mobile communication terminals all at once, so there has been theproblem that the location management traffic of the network temporarilyincreases drastically.

As a technique for solving this problem, Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication 11-355835 for example proposes a mobilecommunication system wherein location registration requests from pluralmobile communication terminals within a train are represented by acommunication device installed in the train. With this mobilecommunication system, the plural mobile communication terminals withinthe train perform location registration with the aforementionedcommunication device as a virtual base station device. On the otherhand, upon the train moving from one location registration area toanother location registration area, the aforementioned communicationdevice transmits a location registration request to a control stationdevice via a base station device, thereby realizing representing thelocation registration operation of plural mobile communication terminalswithin a train by a communication device.

However, with the mobile communication system disclosed in theabove-described Publication, the plural mobile communication terminalssituated within the train transmit subordination information indicatingsubordination to the aforementioned communication device, to the controlstation device.

Accordingly, in the event that a great number of people get on a trainall at once at rush hour or the like, this means that subordinationinformation is transmitted from the mobile communication terminals tothe control station device all at once. Accordingly, even in the eventthat the above mobile communication system is used, there is a limit tosufficient reduction of communication traffic between the base stationdevice and the control station device.

Also, with such a mobile communication system, in the event that thereare termination requests to each of the plural mobile communicationterminals within the train, individual paging requests have had to betransmitted from the base station. That is to say, the conventionalmobile communication system has had the problem that, even though thetraffic relating to location registration requests can be reduced, thetraffic relating to paging requests cannot be reduced.

Further, the aforementioned mobile communication system has had theproblem that a special communication device has to be installed in thetrain.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area a mobile communication terminal belongs to;wherein, in the event that the mobile communication terminal enters intoa moving unit, the moving unit makes registration with the mobilecommunication network that the mobile communication terminal issubordinate to the moving unit; and wherein in the event that there hasbeen a change in the location registration area to which the moving unitbelongs, the moving unit registers location registration areainformation indicating the location registration area to which themobile communication terminal following the change belongs, in behalf ofthe mobile communication terminal contained therein. This will bereferred to as a First location registration method, for convenience.

With the first location registration method, the mobile communicationterminal may notifies the moving unit of a hierarchical registrationrequest to the effect of registering a subordination relation as to themoving unit, with the moving unit storing the fact that the mobilecommunication terminal is subordinate to itself, while registering thesubordination relation to the mobile communication network. This will bereferred to as a Second location registration method, for convenience.

Also, with the first location registration method, the stage at whichthe moving unit registers subordination of mobile communication terminalto the moving unit with the mobile communication network may beperformed simultaneously with the stage for the moving unit to registerthe location registration area information with the mobile communicationnetwork.

Also, with the first location registration method, the stage at whichthe moving unit registers subordination of mobile communication terminalto the moving unit with the mobile communication network may beperformed by registering a terminal identification number foridentifying the mobile communication terminal and a moving unitidentification number for identifying the moving unit as a set with themobile communication network.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area a mobile communication terminal belongs to;wherein, in the event that the mobile communication terminal enters intoa moving unit, registration is made with the moving unit that the mobilecommunication terminal is subordinate to the moving unit; and wherein inthe event that there has been a change in the location registration areato which the moving unit belongs, the moving unit registers locationregistration area information indicating the location registration areato which the mobile communication terminal following the change belongs,in behalf of the mobile communication terminal contained therein. Thiswill be referred to as a Third location registration method, forconvenience.

Also, with the first or second location registration methods, in theevent that the mobile communication terminal departs from the movingunit and the subordination relation is released, the mobilecommunication terminal may notify the mobile communication network of arelease request for releasing the subordination relation. These will bereferred to as Fourth and Fifth location registration methods, forconvenience.

Also, with the fourth or fifth location registration methods, the mobilecommunication terminal may notify the mobile communication network ofthe release request via the moving unit.

Also, with the second or third location registration methods, in theevent that the mobile communication terminal departs from the movingunit and the subordination relation is released, the mobilecommunication terminal may notify the moving unit of a release requestfor releasing the subordination relation. Further, the mobilecommunication terminal may notify the moving unit of the release requestvia the mobile communication network.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area mobile communication terminals belong to;wherein plural mobile communication terminals are placed in ahierarchical subordination relation; wherein a mobile communicationterminal serving as a child notifies terminal identification numbers ofmobile communication terminals at lower hierarchical levels than itselfto a mobile communication terminal serving as a parent, along with ownterminal identification number; and wherein a mobile communicationterminal at the highest order registers, in the mobile communicationnetwork, terminal identification numbers of mobile communicationterminals at lower hierarchical levels than itself to the mobilecommunication network, along with own terminal identification number;and wherein, in the event that there is a change in the locationregistration area, only the highest order mobile communication terminalregisters the location registration area information with the mobilecommunication network. This will be referred to as a Sixth locationregistration method, for convenience.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area mobile communication terminals belong to;wherein plural mobile communication terminals are placed in ahierarchical subordination relation; wherein a mobile communicationterminal serving as a child notifies a mobile communication terminal,serving as a parent, of a terminal identification number; and wherein amobile communication terminal serving as a parent registers, with themobile communication network, the terminal identification number of amobile communication terminal serving as a child, along with ownterminal identification number; and wherein, in the event that there isa change in the location registration area, the mobile communicationnetwork updates the location registration area information for only thehighest order mobile communication terminal. This will be referred to asa Seventh location registration method, for convenience.

With the sixth or seventh location registration methods, the mobilecommunication terminal serving as a parent may store the terminalidentification number of a mobile communication terminal serving as achild. These will be referred to as eighth and ninth locationregistration methods, for convenience.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area mobile communication terminals belong to;wherein plural mobile communication terminals are placed in ahierarchical subordination relation; wherein a mobile communicationterminal serving as a child registers, with the mobile communicationnetwork, the terminal identification number of a parent and own terminalidentification number, upon receiving a terminal identification numberfrom a mobile communication terminal serving as a parent; and wherein,in the event that there is a change in the location registration area,the mobile communication network updates the location registration areainformation for only the highest order mobile communication terminal.This will be referred to as a Tenth location registration method, forconvenience.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal locationregistration method for registering, with a mobile communicationnetwork, location registration area information indicating whichlocation registration area mobile communication terminals belong to;wherein plural mobile communication terminals are placed in ahierarchical subordination relation; wherein a mobile communicationterminal serving as a child notifies a mobile communication terminal,serving as a parent, of a terminal identification number; and wherein amobile communication terminal serving as a parent stores the terminalidentification number of a mobile communication terminal serving as achild; and wherein, in the event that there is a change in the locationregistration area, the mobile communication terminal serving as a parentregisters the location registration area information with the mobilecommunication network. This will be referred to as an Eleventh locationregistration method, for convenience.

With the sixth through tenth location registration methods, in the eventof releasing a parent-child subordination relation, the child mobilecommunication terminal may notify the mobile communication network ofthe terminal identification number of the parent mobile communicationterminal and own terminal identification number; and the mobilecommunication network may release the parent-child subordinationrelation based on the terminal identification number of the child andthe terminal identification number of the parent. Further, the childmobile communication terminal may notify the mobile communicationnetwork of the terminal identification number of the parent and ownterminal identification number via the parent mobile communicationterminal.

Also, with the eighth, ninth, or eleventh location registration methods,in the event of releasing a parent-child subordination relation, thechild mobile communication terminal may notify the parent mobilecommunication terminal of the terminal identification number of theparent mobile communication terminal and own terminal identificationnumber, and the parent mobile communication terminal may delete theterminal identification number of the child mobile communicationterminal.

Also, with the eighth, ninth, or eleventh location registration methods,in the event of releasing a parent-child subordination relation, thechild mobile communication terminal may notify the mobile communicationnetwork of a release request containing the terminal identificationnumber of the parent mobile communication terminal and own terminalidentification number, the mobile communication network may notify therelease request to the parent mobile communication terminal, and theparent mobile communication terminal may delete the terminalidentification number of the child mobile communication terminal.

The present invention provides an en bloc paging method for mobilecommunication terminals, wherein a plurality of mobile communicationterminals are aggregated to form a group, and one of the mobilecommunication terminals belonging to the group is set as arepresentative mobile communication terminal, the mobile communicationterminals performing communication with a mobile communication networkwhich stores which location registration area the representative mobilecommunication terminal belongs to as well as the correlation betweenother mobile communication terminals belonging to the group and therepresentative mobile communication terminal; wherein terminationrequests occurring within a predetermined time are stored; and wherein,of the termination requests, those with the mobile communicationterminals correlated to the same the representative mobile communicationterminal as the termination destinations thereof are specified; andwherein an en bloc paging request for specifying all of the mobilecommunication terminals correlating to the specified plurality oftermination requests is generated; and wherein the en bloc pagingrequest is transmitted to the location registration area where therepresentative mobile communication terminal exists. This will bereferred to as a First en bloc paging method, for convenience.

With the first en bloc paging method, upon the representative mobilecommunication terminal receiving an en bloc paging request, therepresentative mobile communication terminal may transmit an pagingrequest to the mobile communication terminals specified by the en blocpaging request. This will be referred to as a Second en bloc pagingmethod, for convenience.

With the second en bloc paging method, upon the mobile communicationterminals receiving the paging request from the representative mobilecommunication terminal, the mobile communication terminals may eachtransmit paging responses to the mobile communication network. This willbe referred to as a Third en bloc paging method, for convenience.

With the second en bloc paging method, upon the mobile communicationterminals each receiving the paging request from the representativemobile communication terminal, the mobile communication terminals mayeach transmit the paging responses to the representative mobilecommunication terminal, and the representative mobile communicationterminal may transmit the paging responses that have been received, tothe mobile communication network. This will be referred to as a Fourthen bloc paging method, for convenience.

With the second en bloc paging method, upon the mobile communicationterminals each receiving the paging request from the representativemobile communication terminal, the mobile communication terminals mayeach transmit paging responses to the representative mobilecommunication terminal, and the representative mobile communicationterminal may generate an en bloc paging response obtained by aggregationof the paging responses that have been received, and transmit this tothe mobile communication network. This will be referred to as a Fifth enbloc paging method, for convenience.

With the fourth or fifth en bloc paging methods, the mobilecommunication network may comprise a plurality of base stations and aplurality of switches, with the mobile communication terminalstransmitting the paging responses to the representative mobilecommunication terminal with a smaller transmitting power as compared tothe transmitting power for communicating with the base stations. Thesewill be referred to as a Sixth or Seventh en bloc paging method, forconvenience.

With the fifth en bloc paging method, the mobile communication networkmay comprise a plurality of switches and a plurality of base stations,with the representative mobile communication terminal transmitting theen bloc paging responses to the switches via the base stations, and theswitches dividing the en bloc paging response that has been received andgenerating the paging responses. This will be referred to as an Eighthen bloc paging method, for convenience.

With the first through eighth en bloc paging methods, the representativemobile communication terminal may be a predetermined mobilecommunication terminal.

The present invention provides a relay device which is installed in amoving unit and which registers location registration area informationindicating which location registration area that mobile communicationterminals contained within the moving unit belong to, with a mobilecommunication network; the relay device comprising: atransmission/reception unit for performing transmission/reception ofsignals with an external device; a first storing unit which, upon thetransmission/reception unit receiving, from the mobile communicationterminal, a hierarchy request containing a terminal identificationnumber for identifying the mobile communication terminal, stores theterminal identification number that has been received; a second storingunit for storing, beforehand, a moving unit identification number foridentifying the moving unit; a third storing unit for storing locationregistration area information indicating a location registration area;and a control unit which, in the event of detecting a change in thelocation registration area upon comparing location registration areainformation received from the mobile communication network via thetransmission/reception unit with location registration area informationstored in the third storing unit, stores the received locationregistration area information in the third storing unit, but which, onthe other hand, in the event of detecting change in first locationregistration area following reception of the hierarchy request,transmits a hierarchy location registration request containing themoving unit identification number, the terminal identification numbers,and the new location registration area information, to the mobilecommunication network, using the transmission/reception unit. This willbe referred to as a First relay device, for convenience.

The present invention provides a relay device for performingcommunication with a mobile communication network wherein a plurality ofmobile communication terminals are aggregated and registered as a group,and wherein in the event that there are termination requests within apredetermined time to a plurality of mobile communication terminalsbelonging to the group, an en bloc paging request which is a compilationof the paging requests corresponding to the termination requests istransmitted, the relay device comprising: a reception unit for receivingthe en bloc paging request; a processing unit for dividing the en blocpaging request that has been received and generating the pagingrequests; and a transmitting unit for transmitting the generated pagingrequests to the mobile communication terminals belonging to the group.This will be referred to as a Second relay device, for convenience.

With the second relay device, the en bloc paging request may containeach set of terminal identification information for identifying themobile communication terminals corresponding to each the terminationrequest, with the processing unit combining each set of terminalidentification information contained in the en bloc paging request thathas been received, and identification information for identifying therelay device, and generating the paging requests. This will be referredto as a Third relay device, for convenience.

Also, with the second relay device, the mobile communication network maycomprise a plurality of switches and a plurality of base stations, withthe en bloc paging request being transmitted via the base stations, andcontaining each set of terminal identification information foridentifying the mobile communication terminals corresponding to thetermination requests, and the processing unit generating the terminationrequests for each set of the terminal identification informationcontained in the en bloc paging requests received. This will be referredto as a Fourth relay device, for convenience.

With the third relay device, the reception unit may receive the pagingresponses transmitted from the mobile communication terminals, with theprocessing unit aggregating the paging responses received in eachpredetermined time and generating an en bloc paging response, and thetransmission unit transmitting the generated en bloc paging response tothe base station. This will be referred to as a Fifth relay device, forconvenience.

With the second through fifth relay devices, the relay device may beconfigured of a mobile communication terminal.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal which,upon being contained in a moving unit to which a relay device isdisposed, registers location registration area information indicatingwhich location registration area it belongs to, with a mobilecommunication network, using the relay device, the mobile communicationterminal comprising: a transmission/reception unit for performingtransmission/reception of signals with an external device; anadvertisement information monitoring unit for detecting whether or notthe mobile communication terminal is subordinate to the relay device,based on advertisement information transmitted from the relay deviceusing the transmission/reception unit; and a control unit for, in theevent that the state of the mobile communication terminal changes from astate of non-subordination to the relay device to a state ofsubordination, transmitting a hierarchical registration request forregistering the subordination relation to the relay device or the mobilecommunication network, using the transmission/reception unit. This willbe referred to as a First mobile communication terminal, forconvenience.

With the first mobile communication terminal, in the event that thestate of the mobile communication terminal changes from a state ofsubordination to the relay device to a state of non-subordination, thecontrol unit may transmit a release request for releasing thesubordination relation to the relay device or the mobile communicationnetwork, using the transmission/reception unit.

With the first mobile communication terminal, the advertisementinformation may contain a moving unit identification number foridentifying the moving unit, and the mobile communication terminal maycomprise: a moving unit identification number storing unit for storingthe moving unit identification number; and a terminal identificationnumber storing unit for storing a terminal identification number foridentifying the mobile communication terminal; with the control unittransmitting the release request containing the moving unitidentification number read out from the moving unit identificationnumber storing unit and the terminal identification number read out fromthe terminal identification number storing unit, using thetransmission/reception unit.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal whichperforms communication with a mobile communication network, andautonomously constructs hierarchical relations with other mobilecommunication terminals, the mobile communication terminal comprising: afirst storing unit for storing own terminal identification number foridentifying the mobile communication terminal; an advertisement unit forperforming advertisement of terminal advertisement informationcontaining the own terminal identification number; a hierarchy unitwherein, in the event of receiving the terminal advertisementinformation advertised from another mobile communication terminal, oneof the mobile communication terminal and the other mobile communicationterminal becomes a parent and the other becomes a child, followingpredetermined rules; a second storing unit for storing a child terminalidentification number for identifying the mobile communication terminalto be a child, in the event that the mobile communication terminalbecomes a parent; and a third storing unit for storing a parent terminalidentification number for identifying the mobile communication terminalto be a parent, in the event that the mobile communication terminalbecomes a child. This will be referred to as a Second mobilecommunication terminal, for convenience.

With the second mobile communication terminal, in the event that themobile communication terminal becomes a parent, a hierarchy registrationrequest containing the own terminal identification number and the childterminal identification number may be transmitted to the mobilecommunication network.

Also, with the second mobile communication terminal, in the event thatthe mobile communication terminal becomes a child, a hierarchyregistration request containing the own terminal identification numberand the parent terminal identification number may be transmitted to themobile communication network.

Also, with the second mobile communication terminal, in the event ofreleasing the hierarchical relation after the mobile communicationterminal has become a child, a release request containing the ownterminal identification number and the parent terminal identificationnumber may be transmitted to the mobile communication network.

The present invention provides a location information managing devicewhich is used with a mobile communication network comprising a pluralityof base stations which perform communication with mobile communicationterminals and a plurality of switches which perform communication withthe base stations, for performing communication with the plurality ofswitches and managing location registration area information indicatingwhich location registration area the mobile communication terminalsbelong to, the location information managing device comprising: a movingunit table for storing, in a correlated manner, a terminalidentification number for identifying a mobile communication terminal,and a moving unit identification number corresponding to a moving unitto which mobile communication terminal having the terminalidentification number belongs; and a location table for storing, in acorrelated manner, the terminal identification number and the movingunit identification number, and the location registration areainformation. This will be referred to as a First location informationmanaging device, for convenience.

The present invention provides a location information managing devicewhich is used with a mobile communication network comprising a pluralityof base stations which perform communication with mobile communicationterminals and a plurality of switches which perform communication withthe base stations, for performing communication with the plurality ofswitches and managing location registration area information indicatingwhich location registration area the mobile communication terminalsbelong to, the location information managing device comprising: ahierarchical table for storing, in a correlated manner, a terminalidentification number for identifying a mobile communication terminal tobe a parent, and a terminal identification number of a mobilecommunication terminal to be a child; and a location table for storing,in a correlated manner, the terminal identification number and thelocation registration area information. This will be referred to as aSecond location information managing device, for convenience.

The present invention provides a location information managing devicewhich is used with a mobile communication network comprising a pluralityof base stations which perform communication with mobile communicationterminals and a plurality of switches which perform communication withthe base stations, for performing communication with the plurality ofswitches and managing location registration area information indicatingwhich location registration area the mobile communication terminalsbelong to, the location information managing device comprising: anextended location table for storing, in a correlated manner, a terminalidentification number for identifying the mobile communication terminaland a moving unit identification number for identifying a moving unit,location registration area information of the mobile communicationterminal, and a moving unit identification number of a moving unit towhich the mobile communication terminal is subordinate. This will bereferred to as a Third location information managing device, forconvenience.

The present invention provides a location information managing devicewhich is used with a mobile communication network comprising a pluralityof base stations which perform communication with mobile communicationterminals and a plurality of switches which perform communication withthe base stations, for performing communication with the plurality ofswitches, the location information managing device comprising: anextended location table for storing, in a correlated manner, a terminalidentification number for identifying the mobile communication terminal,location registration area information of the mobile communicationterminal, and a terminal identification number of a mobile communicationterminal to which the mobile communication terminal is subordinate. Thiswill be referred to as a Fourth location information managing device,for convenience.

The present invention provides an en bloc paging request generatingdevice, used with a mobile communication system comprising a pluralityof switches and a plurality of base stations, wherein a plurality ofmobile communication terminals are aggregated to form a group, andwherein one mobile communication terminal belonging to the group ishandled as a representative mobile communication terminal, the en blocpaging request generating device comprising: a table for storing whichlocation registration area the representative mobile communicationterminal belongs to, along with storing the correlation between othermobile communication terminals belonging to the group and therepresentative mobile communication terminal; a storing unit for storingtermination requests; and a control unit for reading out the terminationrequests from the storing unit once every predetermined time,determining, of the termination requests read out, those having themobile communication terminals correlated with same the representativemobile communication terminal as the termination destinations thereof,by making reference to the table, and generating an en bloc pagingrequest for specifying all of the mobile communication terminalscorresponding to the determined plurality of termination requests. Thiswill be referred to as a First en bloc paging request generating device,for convenience.

With the first en bloc paging request generating device, the table maycontain a first table and a second table; with the first table storing,in a correlated manner, representative terminal identificationinformation for identifying the representative mobile communicationterminal and location registration area information indicating thelocation registration area where the representative mobile communicationterminal belongs; the second table storing, in a correlated manner, eachof terminal identification information for identifying the other mobilecommunication terminals belonging to the group and the representativeterminal identification information; and the control unit reading outtermination requests from the storing unit once every predeterminedtime, extracting each of the terminal identification informationcontained in the termination requests that have been read out,determining each of the representative terminal identificationinformation by searching the second table based on each of the extractedterminal identification information, grouping the terminalidentification information which matches the determined representativeterminal identification information, determining the locationregistration area information by searching the first table based on therepresentative terminal identification information of each group, andgenerating an en bloc paging request containing each of the terminalidentification information grouped with regard to the locationregistration area indicated by the location registration areainformation that has been determined.

The present invention provides a switch, used with a mobilecommunication system wherein a plurality of mobile communicationterminals are aggregated to form a group, and one of the mobilecommunication terminals belonging to the group receives the pagingresponses from other mobile communication terminals belonging to thegroup and generates an en bloc paging response wherein the pagingresponses are aggregated, and transmits the en bloc paging response to abase station; wherein, upon receiving the en bloc paging response fromthe base station, the switch reconfigures the en bloc paging responseinto individual the paging responses, which the switch outputs. Thiswill be referred to as a First switch, for convenience.

The present invention provides a mobile communication network comprisinga plurality of switches, a plurality of base stations, and the first enbloc paging request generating device.

The present invention provides a mobile communication system comprisinga plurality of base stations, one or a plurality of switches, the firstor third location information managing device, the first relay device,and the first mobile communication terminal.

The present invention provides a mobile communication system comprisinga plurality of base stations, one or a plurality of switches, the secondor fourth location information managing device, and the second mobilecommunication terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of amobile communication system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a movingunit in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobilecommunication terminal in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a locationinformation managing device in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a location table in themobile communication system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a moving unit table inthe mobile communication system.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of hierarchicallocation registration in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of locationregistration in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of releasinghierarchical location registration in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobilecommunication terminal in a mobile communication system according to asecond embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of a lower orderterminal managing table in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a hierarchical tablein the mobile communication system.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the mobilecommunication terminal in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the stored contents of alocation table used in a mobile communication system according to athird embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating the initial operation of enbloc location registration in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustrating the releasing operation ofthe hierarchical relation in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of releasingregistration of the hierarchical relation via a mobile communicationnetwork NET in the mobile communication system.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the stored contents ofan extended location table used in a mobile communication systemaccording to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the stored contents ofan extended location table used in a mobile communication systemaccording to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of amobile communication system according to a seventh embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a locationinformation managing device in a mobile communication system accordingto the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of first andsecond tables in the system.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of en bloc pagingrequests and paging requests in the system.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the movingunit in the system.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating the contents of en bloc pagingrequests in the system.

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of hierarchicallocation registration in the system.

FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation relating to enbloc paging requests and paging requests in the system.

FIG. 28 is a diagram explaining an example of operation of a controldevice relating to generating of en bloc paging requests in the system.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the contents of en bloc pagingrequests in the system.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating the contents of paging requests in thesystem.

FIG. 31 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations relating to enbloc paging requests and paging responses in a Modification 1 of thesystem.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating the contents of paging requests in theModification 1.

FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations relating to enbloc paging requests and paging responses in a Modification 2 of thesystem.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of amobile communication system according to an eighth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of first andsecond location tables in the system.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 1. First Embodiment

<1-1: Configuration of the First Embodiment>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a mobilecommunication system according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in the diagram, the mobile communication system hasa mobile communication network NET, and a relay device 21 (mobilecommunication device) installed in a moving unit 2. The moving unit 2 isa mass-transit vehicle such as a train or a bus, and a train will beused in this example. Also, though only one moving unit 2 is shown inFIG. 1, in reality, a greater number of trains 2 exist, and relaydevices 21 are installed in each.

The mobile communication network NET comprises plural base stations 3-1,3-2, . . . , plural switches 4-1, 4-2, . . . , a gate relay switch 50,and a location information managing device 60.

The base stations 3-1, 3-2, . . . , are disposed at predeterminedintervals, each forming a base station area 4 (denoted by the symbols “4a” through “4 f” in FIG. 1). The base station areas 4 are areas whereinwireless communication with the base stations 3 making them up ispossible. In the following, as shown in FIG. 1, the base stations 3-1through 3-6 make up the base station areas 4 a through 4 f,respectively. Also, the location registration areas 5 (denoted by thesymbols “5A” and “5B” in FIG. 1) are groups of plural base station areas4, and are provided in a manner corresponding to the switches 4-1, 4-2,. . . . In the event of transmitting a termination request to a certainmobile communication terminal 1, which location registration area 5 themobile communication terminal 1 is contained in is determined, and atermination request is transmitted from all base stations 3 belonging tothe determined location registration area 5. That is, it can also besaid that the location registration area 5 represents the range in whichto transmit a termination request.

The moving unit 2 is a train which moves upon a railway line L, arrangedso that plural passengers having mobile communication terminals 1-1,1-2, . . . , such as cellular phones or the like, can ride therein. Thismoving unit 2 sequentially passes through plural location registrationareas 5 crossing the railway line L.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of themoving unit 2 relating to the mobile communication system according tothe present embodiment. As shown in the drawing, the moving unit 2contains plural mobile communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , besidesthe relay device 21.

The relay device 21 comprises, besides a signal transmission/receptionunit 211, an advertisement information monitoring unit 212, a locationinformation storing unit 213, a moving unit advertisement informationmanaging unit 214, a mobile communication terminal number managing unit215, and a mobile communication terminal identification number storingunit 216; a control unit (not shown) for controlling the components.

The signal transmission/reception unit 211 comprises an antenna 211 aextending outwards from the moving unit 2, for performing wirelesscommunication with base stations 3 making up base station areas 4 inwhich zone the relay device 21 exists, and also comprises an antenna 211b extending inward into the moving unit 2, for performing wirelesscommunication with one or more mobile communication terminals 1contained in the moving unit 2.

The advertisement information monitoring unit 212 obtains advertisementinformation transmitted at predetermined cycles from a base station 3,via the signal transmission/reception unit 211, which it monitors. Theadvertisement information contains location registration areainformation for identifying location registration areas. Theadvertisement information monitoring unit 212 monitors change in thelocation registration area information, and in the event that there ischange therein, writes new location registration area information to thelocation information storing unit 213.

For example, in FIG. 1, saying that the moving unit 2 has moved from thelocation registration area 5A to the location registration area 5B, therelay device 21 at first receives location registration area informationindicating the location registration area 5A from the base station 3-1,and subsequently receives location registration area informationindicating the location registration area 5B from the base station 3-4.In this case, the advertisement information monitoring unit 212 detectsthe change in the location registration area information, and updatesthe location registration area information stored in the locationinformation storing unit 213.

Next, the moving unit advertisement information managing unit 214outputs a moving unit identification number to the signaltransmission/reception unit 211 at predetermined cycles, and notifiesthe moving unit identification number to the mobile communicationterminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , via the signal transmission/reception unit211. The moving unit identification number is used to identify themoving unit 2.

Next, the mobile communication terminal number managing unit 215 managesthe terminal identification numbers of the mobile communicationterminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , contained in the moving unit 2. Also, themobile communication terminal identification number storing unit 216stores the terminal identification numbers of the mobile communicationterminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , contained in the moving unit 2, under themanagement of the mobile communication terminal number managing unit215. In this example, the phone numbers (originating ID) of the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , are used as the terminalidentification numbers.

Also, the control unit transmits various control signals via the signaltransmission/reception unit 211, or controls the components based onreceived control signals.

The details of the method for obtaining terminal identification numberswill be described later, but the overview thereof is that relay device21 performs advertisement of the moving unit identification number at apredetermined cycle, and upon the mobile communication terminal 1receiving this, the mobile communication terminal 1 transmits theterminal identification number to the relay device 21. Accordingly, uponthe mobile communication terminal 1 entering inside the moving unit 2,the terminal identification number thereof is stored in the mobilecommunication terminal identification number storing unit 216 by themobile communication terminal number managing unit 215.

The location registration of the mobile communication terminals 1-1,1-2, . . . , contained in the moving unit 2 is performed by the relaydevice 21 representatively in behalf of the mobile communicationterminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . . That is, the mobile communication terminals1-1, 1-2, . . . , are in subordination to the relay device 21 withregard to location registration.

Now establishing such a subordination relation means that the mobilecommunication network NET side needs to know which moving unit 2 themobile communication terminal 1 is subordinate to. However, with anarrangement wherein each mobile communication terminal 1 individuallyadvertise the mobile communication network NET regarding which movingunit it has become subordinate to, in the event that a great number ofpeople having mobile communication terminals 1 get onto a train (movingunit 2), the mobile communication terminals 1 advertise all at the sametime, so the traffic of the base station 3 increases.

Accordingly, with the present embodiment, at the time of the moving unit2 moving from a location registration area 3 to another locationregistration area, advertisement of the terminal identification numbersof the mobile communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , in a subordinaterelation, is made to the mobile communication network NET along with thelocation registration of the relay device 21.

Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of amobile communication terminal 1. As shown in the figure, the mobilecommunication terminal 1 comprises, besides a signaltransmission/reception unit 11, an advertisement information monitoringunit 12, a location information storing unit 13, a moving unitadvertisement information monitoring unit 14, and a moving unitidentification number storing unit 15; a control unit (not shown) forcontrolling the components.

The signal transmission/reception unit 11 performs wirelesscommunication with the base station 3 and relay device 21. Theadvertisement information monitoring unit 12 and location informationstoring unit 13 have the same functions as the above-describedadvertisement information monitoring unit 212 and location informationstoring unit 213 of the relay device 21. That is, the advertisementinformation monitoring unit 12 monitors the advertisement informationfrom the base station 3, and in the event that there has been a changeto the location registration area information contained in theadvertisement information, new location registration area information iswritten to the location information storing unit 13.

The moving unit advertisement information monitoring unit 14 monitorsthe moving unit identification number advertised at predetermined cyclesfrom the relay device 21, and judges whether or not the mobilecommunication terminal 1 is contained in the moving unit 2. The movingunit advertisement information monitoring unit 14 stores the receivedmoving unit identification number in the moving unit identificationnumber storing unit 15, and in the event that the moving unitidentification number has not been received for a certain period, themoving unit identification number stored in the moving unitidentification number storing unit 15 is deleted.

Also, the control unit transmits various control signals via the signaltransmission/reception unit 11, or controls the components based onreceived control signals.

Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of thelocation information managing device 60. As shown in the figure, thelocation information managing device 60 comprises a communication unit61, a control unit 62, and a storing unit 63.

The communication unit 61 is means for performing communication with theswitches 4-1, 4-2, . . . , the gate relay switch 50, and so forth. Thecontrol unit 62 functions as a control center for the locationinformation managing device 60, exchanging information with thecomponents within the location information managing device 60.

The storing unit 63 is a database for registering the locationregistration area of the mobile communication terminals 1, with regardto the mobile communication terminals 1 receiving mobile communicationservices using the mobile communication network NET. Stored in thisstoring unit 63 are a moving unit table 631 and a location table 632.The contents of these tables will now be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the specific contents of the movingunit table 631. As shown in the figure, the moving unit identificationnumber of the moving unit 2, and the terminal identification numbers ofthe mobile communication terminals 1 contained in the moving unit 2 arestored in a correlated manner. Accordingly, all mobile communicationterminals 1 in a subordination relation with a particular moving unitcan be determined by making reference to the moving unit table 631.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the specific contents of the locationtable 632. As shown in the figure, the location table 632 stores theterminal identification numbers of the mobile communication terminals 1(both mobile communication terminals 1 inside the moving unit 2 andmobile communication terminals 1 outside of the moving unit 2), movingunit identification number of the moving unit, and location registrationarea information representing the location registration area where themobile communication terminals 1 and the moving unit 2 exist, in acorrelated manner. Accordingly, the location registration area of themobile communication terminals 1 can be determined by making referenceto the location table 632.

<1-2: Operation of First Embodiment>

Next, the operation of the mobile communication system will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

<1-2-1: Hierarchical Location Registration>

First, the operations of a mobile communication terminal 1 becomingsubordinate to a particular moving unit 2, up to this being registeredfrom the moving unit 2, and this being registered to the locationinformation managing device 60, will be described. In the presentembodiment, the registration of the subordinate relation will beperformed at the same time as the location registration of the movingunit 2. This series of processing will be referred to as hierarchicallocation registration. In the following description, a case wherein auser of a mobile communication terminal 1-1 and a user of a mobilecommunication terminal 1-2 get in a moving unit 2 located in a basestation area 4 c (the location registration area 5A), and this movingunit 2 moves to the base station area 4 d (the location registrationarea 5B), will be assumed.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedures of hierarchicallocation registration. First, the relay device 21 advertises the movingunit advertisement information containing the moving unit identificationnumber at predetermined cycles (Step S1). Upon the mobile communicationterminal 1-1 and the mobile communication terminal 1-2 detecting this(steps S2 and S3), the mobile communication terminal 1-1 and the mobilecommunication terminal 1-2 each make hierarchical location registrationrequests to the relay device 21 (steps S4 and S5). The hierarchicallocation registration requests each contain the terminal identificationnumbers of the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2.

Upon receiving the hierarchical location registration requests, therelay device 21 stores the terminal identification numbers in theterminal identification number storing unit 216, and transmits ahierarchical location registration response to the mobile communicationterminal 1-1 and the mobile communication terminal 1-2 (steps S6 andS7). Accordingly, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2receiving this know that hierarchical location registration has beenmade, i.e., that they are made subordinate to the moving unit 2 (stepsS8 and S9). In the event that the location registration area is changed,a general mobile communication terminal 1 transmits a locationregistration request to the base station 3 of itself, but the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 which are in a subordinate state donot make a location registration request to the base station 3.

Subsequently, upon the moving unit 2 moving from the base station area 4c (the location registration area 5A) into the base station area 4 d(the location registration area 5B), the location registration areainformation contained in the base station advertisement informationadvertised from the base station 3-4 is received by each of the relaydevice 21 and the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 (step S10).Then, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 store the receivedlocation registration area information in their location informationstoring units. On the other hand, the advertisement informationmonitoring unit of the relay device 21 detects that there is adisagreement between the former location registration area informationand the received location registration area information, and detectsthat there has been a change in the location registration area.

Subsequently, the relay device 21 transmits a hierarchical locationregistration request to the location information managing device 60 viathe base station 3-4 and switch 4-2 (step S11). This hierarchicallocation registration request contains the terminal identificationnumbers of the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, the movingunit identification number, and location registration area information.

Next, upon the location information managing device 60 receiving thehierarchical location registration request, the control unit 62registers the terminal identification numbers of the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 in the moving unit table 631 in amanner correlated with the moving unit identification number of themoving unit 2 (step S12). Also, the control unit 62 overwrites thelocation registration area information space corresponding to theterminal identification numbers of the mobile communication terminals1-1 and 1-2 and the moving unit identification numbers of the movingunit 2 with the received location registration area information (stepS13). Thus, the subordination relation of the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 and the moving unit 2 is registered, and thelocation registration area information is updated. Subsequently, thelocation information managing device 60 transmits a hierarchicallocation registration response to the relay device 21, via the switch4-2 and the base station 3-4 (step S14).

<1-2-2: Location Registration>

Next, description will be made regarding location registration, using asan example a case wherein the moving unit 2 moves from the base stationarea 4 d (the location registration area 5B) to the base station area 4c (the location registration area 5A), with the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 remaining subordinate to the moving unit 2.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of locationregistration. Upon the moving unit 2 entering the location registrationarea 5A, the location registration area information contained in thebase station advertisement information advertised from the base station3-3 is received by each of the relay device 21 and the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 (step S21). Thus, the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 update the stored contents of thelocation information storing unit to the location registration areainformation received. On the other hand, the advertisement informationmonitoring unit of the relay device 21 detects that there is adisagreement between the former location registration area informationand the received location registration area information, and detectsthat there has been a change in the location registration area (stepS22).

Subsequently, the relay device 21 transmits a location registrationrequest to the location information managing device 60 via the basestation 3-3 and switch 4-1 (step S23). This hierarchical locationregistration request contains the moving unit identification number andlocation registration area information, but does not contain theterminal identification numbers of the mobile communication terminals1-1 and 1-2.

Next, upon the location information managing device 60 receiving thelocation registration request, the control unit 62 makes reference tothe moving unit table 631, and reads out the terminal identificationnumbers corresponding to the moving unit identification number (stepS24). In this case, the terminal identification numbers of the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 are read out. Next, the control unit62 overwrites the location registration area information spacecorresponding to the terminal identification numbers and moving unitidentification number read out, with the received location registrationarea information (step S25). Thus, the location registration areainformation of the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 and themoving unit 2 is updated. Subsequently, the location informationmanaging device 60 transmits a location registration response to therelay device 21, via the switch 4-1 and the base station 3-3 (step S26).

<1-2-3: Releasing Hierarchical Location Registration>

Next, releasing of the hierarchical location registration will bedescribed. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation forreleasing the hierarchical location registration. This example assumes acase wherein the user of the mobile communication terminal 1-1 leavesthe moving unit 2.

The relay device 21 of the moving unit 2 advertises the moving unitadvertisement information at predetermined cycles (Step S31), but in theevent that the user of the mobile communication terminal 1-1 disembarksand leaves the moving unit 2, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 canno longer receive the moving unit advertisement information. The movingunit advertisement information monitoring unit 14 of the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 measures the time from receiving one set ofmoving unit advertisement information till the time of receiving anotherset of moving unit advertisement information, and in the event that thismeasured time exceeds a predetermined period of time which is longerthan the cycle wherein the relay device 21 advertises the moving unitadvertisement information, detects that the user has left the movingunit 2 (step S32).

Subsequently, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 transmits ahierarchical location registration release request to the locationinformation managing device 60 via the base station 3-4 and switch 4-2(step S33). This hierarchical location registration release requestcontains the moving unit identification number of the moving unit 2 towhich it was subordinate, the terminal identification number of themobile communication terminal 1-1, and current location registrationarea information.

Upon the location information managing device 60 receiving thehierarchical location registration release request, the locationinformation managing device 60 deletes the terminal identificationnumber corresponding to the moving unit identification number receivedfrom the moving unit table 631, and releases the subordination relationbetween the moving unit 2 and the mobile communication terminal 1-1(step S34). Accordingly, the location registration area information ofthe mobile communication terminal 1-1 is no longer updated by the movingunit 2 moving to another location registration area. Next, the controlunit 62 updates the location table 632 based on the received terminalidentification number and the location registration area information(step S35).

Subsequently, the location information managing device 60 transmits ahierarchical location registration release response to the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 via the switch 4-2 and the base station 3-4(step S36). Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 can knowthat the subordination relation has been released (step S37).

Next, the location information managing device 60 transmits ahierarchical location registration release request containing theterminal identification number to the relay device 21 (step S38), uponwhich the relay device 31 deletes the terminal identification numberfrom the mobile communication terminal identification number storingunit 216 (step S39), and returns a hierarchical location registrationrelease response to the location information managing device 60 (stepS40). Accordingly, this does away with the problem wherein the terminalidentification number of a mobile communication terminal with which thesubordination relation has been released is permanently stored in themobile communication terminal identification number storing unit 216.

2. Second Embodiment

Next, a mobile communication system according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention will be described.

<2-1: Configuration of Second Embodiment>

The mobile communication system according to the second embodiment isthe same as the mobile communication system according to the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 1, except that a relay device 21 is notprovided to the moving unit 2, a hierarchy table 633 is used instead ofthe moving unit table 631 of the location information managing device60, and detailed configuration of the mobile communication terminal 1.

With the mobile communication system according to the first embodiment,location registration of all mobile communication terminals 1 in asubornation relation is handled by location registration from the relaydevice 21, by making a subordination relation between the relay device21 and the mobile communication terminals 1. Considering thesubordination relation as a parent-child relation, the relay device 21is equivalent to a parent which brings the mobile communication terminal1 into subordination, and the mobile communication terminal 1 is a childwhich is subordinate to the relay device 21. Here, that which couldbecome a parent was limited to the relay device 21. In comparison, withthe mobile communication system according to the second embodiment, eachmobile communication terminal 1 may become either a parent or a child,and freely structure subordination relations.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the mobilecommunication terminal 1 according to the second embodiment. As shown inthis figure, the mobile communication terminal 1 comprises acommunication unit 71, a control unit 72, and a storing device 73.

The communication unit 71 performs wireless communication with the basestation 3. The control unit 72 functions as a control center forcontrolling the components of the mobile communication terminal. Thestoring unit 73 stores a lower order terminal managing table 731, modeinformation, the terminal identification number of the mobilecommunication terminal, location registration area information, and theterminal identification number of the parent mobile communicationterminal (hereafter referred to as parent terminal identificationnumber). However, the lower order terminal managing table 731 isgenerated as necessary, and is not generated in the event that there isno child mobile communication terminal.

The mode information indicates whether the state of the mobilecommunication terminal 1 is an independent mode, child mode, or a parentmode. The independent mode is a state wherein the mobile communicationterminal has no parent-child relation with other mobile communicationterminals and is independent. The child mode is a state wherein themobile communication terminal is subordinate to another mobilecommunication terminal. Further, the parent mode is a state wherein themobile communication terminal is not subordinate to another mobilecommunication terminal, and has another mobile communication terminal insubordination.

With the present embodiment, a hierarchical subordination relation isstructured, wherein a child mobile communication terminal 1 issubordinate to a certain mobile communication terminal 1, and further agrandchild mobile communication terminal 1 is subordinate to the childmobile communication terminal 1. The aforementioned mode information andparent terminal identification numbers are used for correlating betweenhierarchical levels.

Next, terminal identification numbers regarding all mobile communicationterminals lower than the mobile communication terminal are stored in thelower order terminal managing table 731. FIG. 11 is a diagramillustrating an example of the stored contents of the lower orderterminal managing table 731. Note that in this example, there are threechild mobile communication terminals subordinate to this mobilecommunication terminal, and further, one of these has in subordinationfour mobile communication terminals which are grandchildren from theperspective of this mobile communication terminal.

In this case, the lower order terminal managing table 731 is configuredof two hierarchical levels. The level 1 managing table 731A stores theterminal identification numbers of the terminals which are the childrenof the mobile communication terminal. On the other hand, the level 2managing table 731B stores the terminal identification numbers of theterminals which are the grandchildren from the perspective of the mobilecommunication terminal. In this case, a mobile communication terminalhaving the terminal identification number “123456” is the parent of thefour mobile communication terminals.

Next, description will be made regarding the hierarchy table 633 storedin the storing unit 63 of the location information managing device 60.FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the stored contents ofthe hierarchy table 633. The hierarchy table 633 is the above-describedlower order terminal managing table 731 extended to the entire servicearea. As shown in the figure, the hierarchy table 633 is configured ofplural tables 633A through 633D, 731A, and 731B. Of these, the tables731A and 731B are the above-described level 1 managing table 731A andlevel 2 managing table 731B.

As described above, the mobile communication terminals 1 each have lowerorder terminal managing tables 731 indicating the terminalidentification numbers of the lower-order mobile communication terminals1. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminal 1 of the highest orderhas a lower order terminal managing table 731 containing the entirelower order hierarchical structure.

In this case, the mobile communication terminals 1 respectivelycorresponding to the terminal identification numbers “232323” and“222222” stored in the level 1 table 633A are at the highest order. Uponthe contents of the lower order terminal managing table 731 beingchanged, a highest order mobile communication terminal 1 is to transmitthe changed lower order terminal managing table 731 to the locationinformation managing device 60 via the base station 3 and switch 4.Accordingly, the contents of the hierarchy table 633 constantly reflectthe subordination relations of the mobile communication terminals 1.

<2-2: Operation of the Second Embodiment>

Next, the operation of the mobile communication system according to thesecond embodiment will be described.

<2-2-1: Constructing a Hierarchical Structure>

How the above-described hierarchical structure is constructed will bedescribed through the operations of the mobile communication terminals.FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operations of the mobilecommunication terminal 1. First, upon the user turning the power sourceof the mobile communication terminal 1 to an on state, the control unit72 judges whether or not terminal advertisement information advertisedby other mobile communication terminals has been received (step S41). Inthe event that terminal advertisement information is not received, thisis a case wherein there is no other mobile communication terminal 1 nearthe mobile communication terminal 1, so the mobile communicationterminal 1 does not have a subordinate relation with another mobilecommunication terminal 1. Accordingly, the control unit 72 proceeds tostep S45, and determines that the mode of the mobile communicationterminal 1 is the independent mode (step S45).

On the other hand, in the event that terminal advertisement informationis received, the judgment results in step S41 are YES, so the controlunit 72 advances the processing to step S42, where judgment is maderegarding whether the mode information contained in the terminaladvertisement information is for a parent mode or child mode (step S42).In the event that neither match, this means that another mobilecommunication terminal 1 operating in the independent mode is nearby.Accordingly, the control unit 72 determines whether itself should besubordinate to the other, or whether the other should be subordinate toitself, following predetermined rules. In this example, this isdetermined by the greatness of the terminal identification number.

Specifically, in step S43, the control unit 72 judges whether or not theterminal identification number contained in the received terminaladvertisement information is smaller than the terminal identificationnumber of itself, and in the event that it is smaller, the mode of themobile communication terminal is determined to be the parent mode (stepS44). On the other hand, in the event that this is greater, the controlunit 72 determines the mode of the mobile communication terminal to bethe child mode (step S46).

Thus, following determining of the mode, the control unit 72 generatesterminal advertisement information, and advertises this to the othermobile communication terminal 1 (step S47). Here, the terminaladvertisement information contains the mode information and the terminalidentification number of the mobile communication terminal. Also, in theevent that the mode information instructs the child mode, the terminalidentification number of the mobile communication terminal to be theparent is also contained in the terminal advertisement information.

Next, the control unit 72 judges whether or not the mode information isthe independent mode or not (step S48), and in the event that this isthe independent mode, the processing from step S41 through step S48 isrepeated, and the processing ends at the point that the mode informationis the parent mode or the child mode.

<2-2-2: Registration Processing>

Next, the operation of registration processing which the mobilecommunication terminal 1 performs with regard to the locationinformation managing device 60 will be described. The registrationprocessing is generally divided into hierarchical registrationprocessing for registration of a hierarchical subordination relation ofthe mobile communication terminals 1, and location registrationprocessing for registration of location registration area informationusing a hierarchical subordination relation.

First, in the event that there has been a change to the lower orderterminal managing table 731 of the mobile communication terminals 1, thelower order terminal managing table 731 following change is notified tothe mobile communication terminal 1 contained in the terminaladvertisement information. Accordingly, even in the event that there isa change in the subordination relation with regard to a lower-ordermobile communication terminal 1, the lower order terminal managingtables 731 are sequentially updated from the lower levels to the higherlevels, so all changes are reflected in the lower order terminalmanaging table 731 of the highest-order mobile communication terminal 1.

Second, the mobile communication terminal 1 at the highest ordertransmits the lower order terminal managing table 731 to the locationinformation managing device 60 every time there is a change. Accordingto such processing, there is no need for each of the mobilecommunication terminals 1 to transmit the lower order terminal managingtable 731 to the location information managing device 60, so wirelessresources and network resources can be used effectively.

The location registration processing is performed according to thefollowing procedures. First, in the event that there has been a changeto the location registration area, only the highest-order mobilecommunication terminal 1 transmits the post-change location registrationarea information to the location information managing device 60 alongwith the terminal identification information.

Second, the control unit 72 of the location information managing device60 searches the hierarchy table 633 based on the terminal identificationnumber, and determines all terminal identification numbers of lowerorder than the mobile communication terminal 1. For example, in theevent that the stored contents of the hierarchy table 633 are such asshown in FIG. 12, and the terminal identification number of thehighest-order mobile communication terminal 1 is “232323”, all terminalidentification numbers stored in the tables 633B, 633D, 731A, and 731B,are determined.

Third, the control unit 72 accesses the location table 632 based on thedetermined terminal identification numbers, and rewrites the receivedlocation registration area information over the location registrationarea information corresponding to the terminal identification numbers.

Thus, the location registration area information of all mobilecommunication terminals 1 in a hierarchical relation can be updated witha single location registration process, so traffic at the base station 3can be markedly suppressed, and the wireless resources and networkresources can be effectively used.

3: Third Embodiment

<3-1: Configuration of Third Embodiment>

The mobile communication system according to the third embodiment is thesame as the mobile communication system according to the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 1, except that only a location table 632 isprovided as the location information managing device 60, and a movingunit table 631 is not provided.

With the mobile communication system according to the first embodiment,the subordination relations of all mobile communication terminals 1-1,1-2, . . . , is managed by both the mobile communication network NET andthe relay device 21, but with the third embodiment, the subordinationrelation is managed by the relay device 21 alone, and is not managed bythe mobile communication network NET. This is because that, in the eventthat termination occurs at a certain mobile communication terminal 1,the mobile communication network NET can carry out the communicationfunctions as long as paging requests can be transmitted to the locationregistration area to which the mobile communication terminal 1 belongs,so there is no particular need to manage the subordination relation withthe mobile communication network NET.

For example, let us say that the moving unit identification number of acertain moving unit 2 is “TID-01”, that the moving unit 2 belongs to alocation registration area 5A, and further, contained in the moving unit2 are mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 which have the terminalidentification numbers of “654321” and “333343”. In this case, thestored contents of the location table 632 are such as shown in FIG. 14.That is to say, the location registration area information of all mobilecommunication terminals 1-1, 1-2, . . . , and the relay device 21, arestored in the location table 632, in a manner correlated with the movingunit identification number.

<3-2: Operation of Third Embodiment>

<3-2-1: En Bloc Location Registration>

With the present embodiment, subordination relation is not registeredwith the mobile communication network Net, but the relay device 21 makesen bloc location registration with the mobile communication network NETfor the mobile communication terminals 1 contained in the moving unit 2.This processing will be referred to as en bloc location registration. Inthe following description, let us assume a case wherein, as with thefirst embodiment, a user of a mobile communication terminal 1-1 and auser of a mobile communication terminal 1-2 get in a moving unit 2located in a base station area 4 c (the location registration area 5A),and this moving unit 2 moves to the base station area 4 d (the locationregistration area 5B).

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating the initial operation of enbloc location registration in the mobile communication system accordingto the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, the initial operationof en bloc location registration is the same as the hierarchicallocation registration according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7,except for the point that the subordination relation is not registeredin a moving unit table 631, the point that a hierarchical registrationrequest (steps S4′ and S5′) and an en bloc location registration requestare transmitted (step S11′), and the point that, instead of ahierarchical location registration response, a hierarchical registrationresponse (steps S6′ and S7′) and an en bloc location registrationresponse are transmitted (step S14′). That is to say, with this example,registration of which moving unit 2 the mobile communication terminal 1belongs to is not performed for the mobile communication network NET.However, en bloc location registration is made for the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 contained in the moving unit 2.

In this case, even in the event of receiving a hierarchical registrationrequest from the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 (steps S4′and S5′), the relay device 21 does not immediately perform en bloclocation registration, but rather performs en bloc location registrationat the point that the moving unit 2 moves from the base station area 4 c(the location registration area 5A) to the base station area 4 d (thelocation registration area 5B). Specifically, upon the relay device 21and the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 receiving thelocation registration area information contained in the base stationadvertisement information advertised from the base station 3-4 (stepS10), the advertisement information monitoring unit 212 of the relaydevice 21 detects that there is a disagreement between the formerlocation registration area information and the received locationregistration area information, and detects that there has been a changein the location registration area.

Subsequently, the relay device 21 transmits an en bloc locationregistration request to the location information managing device 60 viathe base station 3-4 and switch 4-2 (step S11′). This en bloc locationregistration request contains the moving unit identification number andlocation registration area information. The terminal identificationnumbers of the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 are containedin the en bloc location registration request transmitted from the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, and the relay device 21 uses theseto generated an en bloc location registration request for the locationinformation managing device 60.

Next, upon the location information managing device 60 receiving the enbloc location registration request, the control unit 62 records theterminal identification numbers of the mobile communication terminals1-1 and 1-2 in the location table 632 in a manner correlated with thelocation registration area information (step S13). Thus, the locationtable 632 is updated.

Upon the location registration area being changed, a mobilecommunication terminal 1 in a normal state transmits of itself alocation registration request to the base station 3, but the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 which are in a subordination statedo not make a location registration request to the base station 3. An enbloc location registration request is performed collectively for theindividual location registration requests, so the wireless resources ofthe base station 3-4 can be conserved. Also, the en bloc locationregistration response is not transmitted to the individual mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, but only to the relay device 21, sothe wireless resources of the base station 3-4 can be conserved.

The above has been a description of the initial operations of en bloclocation registration, and the same location registration is performedin the event that the moving unit 2 subsequently moves to anotherlocation registration area, as long as the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 are contained in the moving unit 2. For example,in the event that the moving unit 2 moves from the base station area 4 d(location registration area 5B) to the base station area 4 c (locationregistration area 5A), an en bloc location registration request istransmitted from the relay device 21 to the location informationmanaging device 60 via the base station 3-3 and switch 4-1. The en bloclocation registration request contains the moving unit identificationnumber of the moving unit 2, the terminal identification numbers of themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, and the locationregistration area information.

With the above-described first embodiment, the subordination relation ismanaged at the location information managing device 60, and accordinglylocation registration requests containing the moving unit identificationnumbers and the location registration area information are transmittedfrom the relay device 21 to the mobile communication network NET.Conversely, with the present embodiment, this subordination relation isnot managed by the mobile communication network NET, so an en bloclocation registration request is transmitted from the relay device 21 tothe mobile communication network NET each time there is a change in thelocation registration area, thereby performing location registration ofthe mobile communication terminals 1 contained in the moving unit 2.

However, the relay device 21 stores the terminal identification numbersof the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 in a subordinationrelation in the mobile communication terminal identification numberstoring unit 216, as with the first embodiment. Specifically, upon themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 transmitting a hierarchicalregistration request to the relay device 21 (steps S5′ and S6′), therelay device 21 stores the terminal identification numbers. In otherwords, the hierarchical relation is stored in the relay device 21.Accordingly, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 which are ina subordination relation do not transmit location registration requeststo the base station 3 or relay device 21 even in the event that there isa change in the location registration area, and the relay device 21performs en bloc location registration. Accordingly, the number oflocation registration signals are reduced.

<3-2-2: Releasing the Hierarchical Relation>

Next, releasing of the hierarchical relation will be described. As forthe forms of releasing the hierarchical relation, this is a first formwherein a mobile communication terminal 1 directly communicates with therelay device 21, and a second form wherein the mobile communicationterminal 1 communicates with the relay device 21 via the mobilecommunication network NET. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram illustratingthe operations of releasing the hierarchical relation according to thefirst form. In this example, a case wherein the user of the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 disembarks and leaves the train (moving unit2).

First, the relay device 21 constantly advertises moving unitadvertisement information (step S50). On the other hand, the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 compares the reception level of the movingunit advertisement information with a threshold value. In the event thatthe mobile communication terminal 1-1 departs from the moving unit 2,the reception level of the moving unit advertisement information drops.In the event that the mobile communication terminal 1-1 detects that thereception level of the moving unit advertisement information is at orlower than the threshold value (step S51), the mobile communicationterminal 1-1 transmits a hierarchical registration release request tothe relay device 21 (step S52). The terminal identification number ofthe mobile communication terminal 1-1 is contained in this hierarchicalregistration release request.

Next, upon the relay device 21 receiving the hierarchical registrationrelease request, the terminal identification number of the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 stored in the mobile communication terminalidentification number storing unit 216 is deleted by the mobilecommunication terminal managing unit 215 (step S53). Accordingly, theregistration of the hierarchical relation is released.

Subsequently, upon the relay device 21 transmitting a hierarchicalregistration release response to the mobile communication terminal 1-1(step S54), the mobile communication terminal 1-1 can know that thesubordination state with the moving unit 2 has been released (step S55).At this time, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 deletes the movingunit identification number from the moving unit identification numberstoring unit 15. Subsequently, in the event that there is a change inthe location registration area, the mobile communication terminal 1-1transmits a location registration request to the base station 3.

Now, in the event that the processing of the above-describedhierarchical registration release request (step S52) through thehierarchical registration release response (step S54) is not performedsuccessfully, this means that the registration of the hierarchicalrelation may not be released in the relay device 21, or the moving unitidentification number may not be deleted from the mobile communicationterminal 1-1.

Accordingly, in the event that the mobile communication terminal 1-1does not receive a hierarchical registration release response from therelay device 21 following elapsing of a predetermined amount of timefollowing transmitting the hierarchical registration release request tothe relay device 21, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 performsreleasing of registration of the hierarchical relation via the mobilecommunication network NET.

Next, description will be made regarding the second form. FIG. 17 is asequence diagram illustrating the operation of performing releasing ofregistration of the hierarchical relation via the mobile communicationnetwork NET. First, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 transmits ahierarchical registration release request to the location informationmanaging device 60 via the base station 3-4 and the switch 4-2 (stepS60). This hierarchical registration release request contains the movingunit identification number, the terminal identification number, and thelocation registration area information.

Next, the location information managing device 60 searches the locationtable 632 based on the moving unit identification number contained inthe hierarchical registration release request, obtains the locationregistration area information of the moving unit 2, and transmits ahierarchical registration release request to the location registrationarea indicated by the location registration area information (step S61).This hierarchical registration release request contains the terminalidentification number of the mobile communication terminal 1-1 which isthe object of this operation.

Next, upon the relay device 21 receiving the hierarchical registrationrelease request, the relay device 21 deletes the terminal identificationnumber of the mobile communication terminal 1-1 stored in the mobilecommunication terminal identification number storing unit 216 (stepS62). Thus, the hierarchical relation is released.

Subsequently, upon the relay device 21 transmitting a hierarchicalregistration release response to the location information managingdevice (step S63), the location information managing device 21 updatesthe location registration area information of the mobile communicationterminal 1-1 stored in the location table 632, based on the locationregistration area information contained in the hierarchical registrationrelease request received from the mobile communication terminal 1-1(step S64). The reason that the location table 632 is not updated at thetime of the hierarchical relation being released in the sequence shownin FIG. 16 but the location table 632 is updated with this sequence isthat with the present sequence, a certain amount of time has elapsedsince the mobile communication terminal 1-1 has departed from the movingunit 2, so the location registration areas of the moving unit 2 and themobile communication terminal 1-1 may be different.

Next, upon the location information managing device 60 transmitting thehierarchical registration release response following the route of switch4-2→base station 3-4→mobile communication terminal 1-1 (step S65), themobile communication terminal 1-1 releases the subordination state tothe moving unit 2 (step S66). Accordingly, even in the event thatreleasing of the registration of the hierarchical relation cannot beperformed between the relay device 21 and the mobile communicationterminal 1-1, registration of the hierarchical relation can be releasedvia the mobile communication network NET. Note that an arrangement maybe made wherein the registration of the hierarchical relation isreleased via the mobile communication network NET from the beginning,without performing releasing of the registration of the hierarchicalrelation between the relay device 21 and the mobile communicationterminal 1-1.

4: Fourth Embodiment

<4-1: Configuration of the Fourth Embodiment>

The mobile communication system according to the fourth embodiment isthe same as the mobile communication system according to the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 1, except for the point that an extendedlocation table 634 is used instead of the location table 632 for thetable of the location information managing device 60, and the point thata moving unit table 631 is not provided.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of the extendedlocation table 634. The extended location table 634 stores terminalidentification numbers or moving unit identification numbers, locationregistration area information, and subordinate mobile terminalidentification information, in a correlated manner. Here, thesubordinate mobile terminal identification information is informationfor identifying the moving unit 2 to which the mobile communicationterminal 1 is subordinate, and is represented by the moving unitidentification number. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the mobilecommunication terminal 1 corresponding to the terminal identificationnumber “001001” is subordinate to the moving unit 2 which corresponds tothe moving unit identification number “TID-01”.

Thus, the extended location table 634 according to the fourth embodimentis capable of centrally managing the location registration areainformation and the subordination relations.

<4-2: Operation of the Fourth Embodiment>

<4-2-1: Hierarchical Location Registration>

First, the operations for hierarchical location registration with themobile communication system according to the fourth embodiment are thesame as the hierarchical location registration operations according tothe first embodiment shown in FIG. 7, except for the point that thestored contents of the extended location table 634 are updated based ona hierarchical location registration request from the relay device 21.That is, the extended location table 634 is updated instead of the stepS12 for registering the subordination relation in the moving unit table631 in FIG. 7, and the step S13 for updating the location table 632.

The hierarchical location registration request from the relay device 21contains the terminal identification numbers of the terminals in asubordination relation, the moving unit identification number, and thelocation registration area information. Updating the extended locationtable 634 is performed by overwriting the location registration areainformation space corresponding to the moving unit identification numberwith the location registration area information contained in thehierarchical location registration request, and writing the moving unitidentification number contained in the hierarchical locationregistration request into the subordinate mobile terminal identificationinformation space corresponding to the terminal identification numbers.

<4-2-2: Location Registration>

Next, the operations for location registration with the mobilecommunication system according to the fourth embodiment are the same asthe hierarchical location registration operations according to the firstembodiment shown in FIG. 8, except for the point that the storedcontents of the extended location table 634 are updated based on alocation registration request from the relay device 21. That is, theextended location table 634 is updated instead of the step S24 forreading the terminal identification number from the moving unit table631 shown in FIG. 8, and the step S25 for updating the location table632.

The moving unit identification number and location registration areainformation are contained in the location registration request. Forupdating the extended location table 634, the location registration areainformation space corresponding to the moving unit identification numberis overwritten with only the location registration area informationcontained in the location registration request. At the extended locationtable 634, the moving unit 2 can be identified by the subordinate mobileterminal identification information of the mobile communication terminal1 that is subordinate thereto. Accordingly, in the event thattermination occurs at a mobile communication terminal 1 with which thereis a subordination relation, the location registration area of themobile communication terminal 1 can be determined by making reference tothe location registration area information of the moving unit 2 to whichit is subordinate.

<4-2-3: Releasing Hierarchical Location Registration>

Next, the operations for releasing the hierarchical locationregistration are the same as the releasing of the hierarchical locationregistration according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 9, exceptfor the point of deleting the subordinate mobile terminal identificationinformation in the extended location table 634 based on releasing of thehierarchical location registration. That is to say, the locationinformation managing device 60 updates the extended location table 634based on a hierarchical location registration release requesttransmitted from the mobile communication terminal 1-1, instead of thestep S34 for releasing the subordination relation to the moving unit 2shown in FIG. 9, and the step S35 for updating the location table 632.

The hierarchical location registration release request contains themoving unit identification number, terminal identification number, andlocation registration area information. For updating the extendedlocation table 634, first, the subordinate mobile terminalidentification information corresponding to the terminal identificationnumber is deleted. Second, the location registration area spacecorresponding to the terminal identification number is overwritten withthe location registration area information contained in the hierarchicallocation registration release request.

Thus, the subordination relation is released, and also the locationregistration area is updated for the released mobile communicationterminal 1.

5: Fifth Embodiment

<5-1: Configuration of the Fifth Embodiment>

The mobile communication system according to the fifth embodiment is thesame as the mobile communication system according to the secondembodiment, except for the point that an extended location table 634′ isused for the table of the location information managing device 60instead of the hierarchy table 633 and the location table 632.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of the extendedlocation table 634′. Note that this example corresponds to thehierarchical tables 633A, 633C, 633B, and 731A, shown in FIG. 12. Asshown in the figure, the extended location table 634′ stores terminalidentification numbers, location registration area information, andsubordinate mobile terminal identification information, in a correlatedmanner, as with the extended location table 634 described in the fourthembodiment.

For example, the terminal identification number “012345” is stored in amanner correlated with the subordinate mobile terminal identificationinformation “987654”, and the terminal identification number “987654” isstored in a manner correlated with the subordinate mobile terminalidentification information “232323”. In this case, the mobilecommunication terminal with the terminal identification number “012345”is subordinate to the mobile communication terminal having the terminalidentification number “987654”, and further, the mobile communicationterminal having the terminal identification number “987654” issubordinate to the mobile communication terminal having the terminalidentification number “232323”. Accordingly, the location registrationarea of the terminal identification number “012345” is the locationregistration area indicated in the location registration areainformation of the terminal identification number “232323”.

In this way, the extended location table 634′ according to the fifthembodiment can centrally manage location registration area informationand plural hierarchical relations.

<5-2: Operations of the Fifth Embodiment>

The operations of the mobile communication terminal 1 according to thefifth embodiment are the same as those described in the secondembodiment, with the mobile communication terminals 1 autonomouslyconstructing hierarchical relations. On the other hand, the registrationoperations with the mobile communication network NET according to thefifth embodiment are the same as the hierarchical location registration,location registration, and hierarchical location registration releasing,described in the fourth embodiment.

That is, with the fifth embodiment, in the event that a certain mobilecommunication terminal 1 is subordinate to another mobile communicationterminal 1, the extended location table 634′ is updated at the pointthat there has been a change in the location registration area. At thistime, the terminal identification number of the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1 is written into the subordinate mobilecommunication terminal information space corresponding to the childmobile communication terminal 1 in the extended location table 634′, andalso new location registration area information is written to thelocation registration area information space of the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1. Thus, storing the terminal identificationnumber of the parent in the subordinate mobile terminal identificationinformation space allows subordination relations spanning pluralhierarchical levels to be managed.

Also, upon the location registration area of the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1 being changed, only the location registrationarea information of the parent is updated, and the location registrationarea information of the child is not updated. In the event of searchingfor the location registration area information of the child, the desiredlocation registration area information can be obtained by obtaining theterminal identification number stored in the space of the subordinatemobile terminal identification information based on the terminalidentification number of the child, and further repeating the likeprocessing, thereby determining the terminal identification number ofthe highest order, and obtaining location registration area informationcorresponding thereto.

6: Sixth Embodiment

<6-1: Configuration of the Sixth Embodiment>

The mobile communication system according to the sixth embodiment is thesame as the mobile communication system according to the fifthembodiment, except for the point that the parent mobile communicationterminal 1 does not have a lower order terminal managing table 731. Thatis to say, while with the fifth embodiment, the subordination relationis managed at both the mobile communication network NET and the mobilecommunication terminal 1, with the sixth embodiment, the subordinationrelation is managed only at the mobile communication network NET.

<6-2: Operations of the Sixth Embodiment>

<6-2-1: Hierarchical Location Registration>

With the sixth embodiment, the mobile communication terminal 1 servingas a parent does not have a lower order terminal managing table 731.Accordingly, with the mobile communication terminal 1 which has enteredthe child mode by the procedure shown in FIG. 13, in the event that thelocation registration area changes following entering the child mode, ahierarchical location registration request is transmitted following theroute of mobile communication terminal 1 (child mode)→base station3→switch 4→location information managing device 60, or the route ofmobile communication terminal 1 (child mode)→mobile communicationterminal 1 (parent mode)→base station 3→switch 4→location informationmanaging device 60. In this case, the mobile communication terminal 1(parent mode) may serve as a simple relay device for airwaves, or maygenerate the aggregated hierarchical location registration requeststransmitted from the child mobile communication terminals 1, atpredetermined time intervals.

The hierarchical location registration request itself contains theterminal identification number of itself (child), the terminalidentification number of the parent, and location registration areainformation. Upon the location information managing device 60 receivingthe hierarchical location registration request, the location informationmanaging device accesses the extended location table 634′ based on theterminal identification number of the child, writes the terminalidentification number of the parent to the corresponding subordinatemobile communication terminal identification information space, andfurther updates the location registration area. While the subordinationrelation is registered, the location registration area information ofthe parent is handled as location registration area of the child, soupdating of the location registration area information may be omitted.

Subsequently, the location information managing device 60 transmits ahierarchical location registration response by the route of locationinformation managing device 60→switch 4→base station 3→mobilecommunication terminal 1 (child mode), or by the route of locationinformation managing device 60→switch 4→base station 3→mobilecommunication terminal 1 (parent mode)→mobile communication terminal 1(child mode). Thus, the child mobile communication terminal 1 can knowthat the subordination relation has been registered.

<6-2-2: Location Registration>

The location registration according to the sixth embodiment is, as withthe fourth and fifth embodiments, performed only by the mobilecommunication terminal 1 serving as a parent, and not by a mobilecommunication terminal 1 serving as a child. Accordingly, upon receivinga location registration request for a parent mobile communicationterminal 1, the location information managing device 60 updates thelocation registration area information space corresponding to thismobile communication terminal based on the location registration areainformation contained in the location registration request, but updatingof the location registration area information is not performed for themobile communication terminal 1 serving as a child. Accordingly, thenumber of times of updating the location registration area informationcan be reduced.

<6-2-3: Releasing Hierarchical Location Registration>

Releasing of the hierarchical location registration is performedaccording to the following procedures with the sixth embodiment.

First, the mobile communication terminal 1 serving as a child constantlycompares the reception airwave level of terminal advertisementinformation transmitted from a mobile communication terminal 1 servingas a parent, with a predetermined threshold value.

Second, upon detecting that the reception airwave level is at or lowerthan the threshold value, the mobile communication terminal 1 serving asa child transmits a hierarchical location registration release requestby the route of mobile communication terminal 1 (child)→base station3→switch 4→location information managing device 60. The hierarchicallocation registration release request contains the terminalidentification number of itself (child), the terminal identificationnumber of the parent, and location registration area information. Also,the child mobile communication terminal 1 may transmit the hierarchicallocation registration release request to the base station 3 via theparent mobile communication terminal 1. In this case, the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1 serves as a simple relay device for airwaves.

Third, upon the location information managing device 60 receiving thehierarchical location registration release request, the locationinformation managing device 60 accesses the extended location table 634′based on the terminal identification number of the child, deletes thecorresponding subordinate mobile communication terminal identificationinformation space, and further updates the location registration area.In this way, the subordination relation is released.

Fourth, the location information managing device 60 transmits ahierarchical location registration release response by the route oflocation information managing device 60→switch 4→base station 3→mobilecommunication terminal 1 (child mode). Thus, the mobile communicationterminal 1 which was a child can know that the subordination relationhas been released.

Note that the location information managing device 60 may transmit thehierarchical location registration release response by the route oflocation information managing device 60→switch 4→base station 3→mobilecommunication terminal 1 which was parent→mobile communication terminal1 (child mode). In this case, the mobile communication terminal 1 whichwas a parent serves as a simple relay device for airwaves.

For example, let us say that the stored contents of the extendedlocation table 634′ are in the state shown in FIG. 19, and from thisstate, the mobile communication terminal 1 having the terminalidentification number “987654” has cancelled the subordination relationwith the mobile communication terminal 1 having the terminalidentification number of “232323”, thereby becoming independent. In thiscase, the terminal identification number “232323” is deleted from thesubordinate mobile terminal information space corresponding to theterminal identification number “987654”. However, the subordinationrelation between the mobile communication terminal 1 having the terminalidentification number of “987654” and the mobile communication terminals1 having the terminal identification numbers of “012345”, “123456”, and“234567”, is maintained. If the subordination relations between thesewere to be cancelled, it would be because the location informationmanaging device 60 received individual hierarchical locationregistration release requests.

Thus, the present embodiment is advantageous in that, in the event thatsubordination relations spanning plural hierarchical levels exist, andthe subordination relation between one hierarchical level and the nexthierarchical level is cancelled, the remaining subordination relationscan be kept.

7. Seventh Embodiment

<7-1: Configuration of the Seventh Embodiment>

<7-1-1: Overall Configuration of the Mobile Communication System>

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of themobile communication system according to the seventh embodiment of thepresent invention. The mobile communication system shown in the figurehas the same configuration as the mobile communication system accordingto the first embodiment, shown in FIG. 1.

<7-1-2: Configuration of Location Information Managing Device>

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of thelocation information managing device. As shown in this figure, thelocation information managing device 60 comprises an paging requestgenerating device 610, a first location table TBL1, and a secondlocation table TBL2.

In the event that there has been a termination request REQt to a certainmobile communication terminal 1, the location information managingdevice 60 generates an paging request REQc.

Particularly, in the event that the location registration areainformation of plural mobile communication terminals 1 contained in themoving unit 2 such as a train or the like are consolidated and managedwith the relay device 21 of the moving unit 2 as a key, the locationinformation managing device 60 generates an en bloc paging request REQcxas a batch of plural paging requests REQc.

With the present embodiment, the location registration area informationof plural mobile communication terminals 1 are managed using the firstlocation table TBL1 and second location table TBL2. FIG. 22 is a diagramillustrating the stored contents of the first location table TBL1 andsecond location table TBL2, hierarchically arranged. The first locationtable TBL1 has plural records Ra1, Ra2, . . . , with one record storinga moving unit identification number IDt given to the relay device 21 ofthe moving unit 2 and the location registration area information, in acorrelated manner. The total number of records matches the total numberof moving units 2 having relay devices 21. Now, the moving unitidentification number IDt is an identifier, uniquely appropriated sothat the relay devices 21 can be identified. Also, the locationregistration area information is information indicating the locationregistration area where the terminal (in this example, the relay device21) exists. Accordingly, which location registration area a certainrelay device 21 belongs to can be known by making reference to the firstlocation table TBL1.

For example, in the event that moving unit 2 exists in the locationregistration area 5A, as shown in FIG. 20, and a terminal identificationnumber IDm given to the relay device 21 in the moving unit 2 is“A01234”, the terminal identification number IDm “A01234” and thelocation registration area “5A” are recorded in the record Ra1, in acorrelated manner, as shown in FIG. 22.

The second location table TBL2 has plural records Rb1, Rb2, . . . , withone record storing terminal identification numbers IDm of the mobilecommunication terminals 1 and the location registration areainformation, in a correlated manner. However, in the event that acertain mobile communication terminal 1 is contained in the moving unit2, the moving unit identification number IDt given to the relay device21 in the moving unit 2 is stored instead of the location registrationarea information. The terminal identification number IDm is anidentifier, uniquely appropriated, such as a phone number for example,so that the mobile communication terminals can be identified.

In the event that the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 arecontained in the moving unit 2 of the above-described example, and theterminal identification numbers IDm given thereto are “X00001” and“X00002”, the terminal identification number IDm of the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 “X00001” and the moving unit identificationnumber IDt “A01234” of the relay device 21 are stored in the record Rb1of the second location table TBL2, in a correlated manner, as shown inFIG. 22.

In this case, in order to find out the location registration areainformation of the mobile communication terminal 1-1, first, the secondlocation table TBL2 is searched with the terminal identification numberIDm “X00001” as a key, and the moving unit identification number IDt“A01234” of the relay device 21 is obtained. Next, the first locationtable TBL1 is searched with the moving unit identification number IDt“A01234” as a key, and the location registration area information “5A”is obtained.

(Paging Request Generating Device)

As shown in FIG. 21, the paging request generating device 610 comprisesa control circuit 611, a timer device 612, and a buffer 613.

The control device 611 is connected to the above-described first andsecond tables TBL1 and TBL2, besides the timer circuit 612 and buffer613, and functions as a control center to control the components. Also,the control device 611 comprises an unshown interface unit, so thatcontrol signals such as termination requests REQt, paging requests REQc,or en bloc paging requests REQcx, and the like can be communicatedbetween the switches 4-1, 4-2, . . . .

The timer circuit 612 measures a predetermined time, generates cyclesignals W, and supplies these to the control device 611. The high-levelperiod of this cycle signal W and the low-level period thereof areequal.

The buffer 613 buffers the termination requests REQt to the mobilecommunication terminals. The termination request REQt contains theterminal identification number IDm of the transmission destination.

The buffer 613 is made up of two storage areas, A and B, and readstermination requests REQt from the storage area B during the period ofwriting termination requests REQt to the storage area A, while readingtermination requests REQt from the storage area A during the period ofwriting termination requests REQt to the storage area B. The controldevice 611 controls the buffer 613 based on the cycle signal W. Morespecifically, termination requests REQt are read from the storage area Band termination requests REQt are written to the storage area A in thehigh-level period of the cycle signal W, while termination requests REQtare read from the storage area A and termination requests REQt arewritten to the storage area B in the low-level period of the cyclesignal W.

The control device 611 generates paging requests REQc or en bloc pagingrequests REQcx based on the termination requests REQt that have beenread out. Specifically, first, the second location table TBL2 issearched regarding all buffered termination requests REQt, with theterminal identification numbers IDm contained therein as a key. Second,judgment is made regarding whether a moving unit identification numberIDt or location registration area information has been obtained as theresult of the search. Third, normal paging requests REQc are generatedfor those regarding which location registration area information hasbeen obtained. Fourth, for those regarding which a moving unitidentification number IDt has been obtained, the first location tableTBL1 is searched with the moving unit identification number IDt as akey, thereby obtaining location registration area information. In theevent that the same moving unit identification number IDt has beenobtained for plural terminal identification numbers IDm, the firstlocation table TBL1 is searched just once based on the moving unitidentification number IDt. Fifth, an en bloc paging request REQcx isgenerated, based on the moving unit identification number IDt, theplural terminal identification numbers IDm, and the locationregistration area information.

That is to say, the control device 611 buffers the termination requestsREQt occurring within a predetermined time, and in the event ofterminations at plural mobile communication terminals 1 belonging to thesame group within that time, these are viewed as simultaneousterminations, so using the first and second location tables TBL1 andTBL2, the paging requests REQc thereof are generated as an en blocpaging request REQcx to the relay device 21.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the data configuration of an en blocpaging request REQcx and an paging request REQc. As shown in thisdiagram, the en bloc paging request REQcx output from the locationinformation managing device 60 contains the identification number IDr ofthe location information managing device 60, the identification numberIDk of the switch 4, the identification number IDb of the base stationgroup, the moving unit identification number IDt, and the terminalidentification numbers IDm1, IDm2, . . . . On the other hand, the pagingrequest REQc differs from the en bloc paging request REQcx in that itonly contains a single terminal identification number IDm.

An en bloc paging request REQcx consolidates plural paging requestsREQc, and accordingly the number of times of transmission over themobile communication network NET can be reduced. Additionally, each ofthe mobile communication terminals 1 subordinate to the relay device 21belong to the same location registration area. Accordingly, in the eventthat individual paging requests REQc are generated, the identificationnumber IDr of the location information managing device 60, theidentification number IDk of the switch 4, and the identification numberIDb of the base station group, are redundant in the paging requestsREQc. The en bloc paging request REQcx consolidates commonidentification numbers, so the amount of signals can be reduced ascompared with plural paging requests REQc.

<7-1-3: Configuration of the Moving Unit>

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a movingunit 2 in the mobile communication system according to the presentembodiment. An embodiment may be conceived wherein, instead of the relaydevice 21 shown in the figure, a certain mobile communication terminal 1takes on the functions of the relay device 21. An example of such anembodiment will be described in the later-described eighth embodiment ofthe present invention.

The relay device 21 shown in the figure comprises a signal processingunit 217, in addition to the components of the relay device 21 shown inFIG. 2.

The signal processing unit 217 generates plural paging requests REQc bydividing the en bloc paging request REQcx which the relay unit 21 hasreceived. Specifically, the moving unit identification number IDt andthe plural terminal identification numbers IDm contained in the en blocpaging request REQcx are each combined, thereby generating plural pagingrequests REQc.

For example, in the event that the relay device 21 has received an enbloc paging request REQcx containing the two terminal identificationnumbers IDm1 and IDm2 as shown in FIG. 25, the signal processing unit217 generates a REQc1 wherein the moving unit identification number IDtand the terminal identification number IDm1 has been combined, and aREQc2 wherein the moving unit identification number IDt and the terminalidentification number IDm2 has been combined. Upon the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 receiving the paging requests REQc1and REQc2, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 each generatepaging responses RESc1 and RESc2, and transmit these to the relay device21.

<7-2: Operations of the Seventh Embodiment>

<7-2-1: Hierarchical Location Registration>

FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operations for en bloclocation registration in the mobile communication system according tothe seventh embodiment. As shown in the figure, the operations of the enbloc location registration are the same as the hierarchical locationregistration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7, except for thepoint that the subordination relation is registered in the secondlocation table (step S72) instead of the moving unit table 631, and thepoint that the first table is updated (step S73) instead of the locationtable 632.

Upon the location information managing device 60 receiving ahierarchical location registration request, the control device 611registers the terminal identification numbers IDm of the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 in the second table TBL2, in amanner correlated with the moving unit identification number IDt of themoving unit 2 (step S72). Also, the control device 611 overwrites thereceived location registration area information in the locationregistration area information space corresponding to the moving unitidentification number IDt of the moving unit 2 in the first locationtable TBL (step S73). Accordingly, the subordination relation betweenthe mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 and the moving unit 2 isregistered, and also the location registration area information isupdated.

Thus, the location information managing device 60 group and manage thelocation registration area information of plural mobile communicationterminals, with the relay device 21 of the moving unit 2 as a key.

<7-2-2: En Bloc Paging Request and Paging Response>

FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the mobilecommunication system relating to en bloc paging requests and pagingresponses. In this example, let us assume that a termination requestREQt1 to the mobile communication terminal 1-1 and a termination requestREQt2 to the mobile communication terminal 1-2 have occurred within apredetermined time, and that the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and1-2 are subordinate to the same relay device 21.

Upon the termination requests REQt1 and REQt2 occurring, the locationinformation managing device 60 generates an en bloc paging request REQcx(step S120). For example, as shown in FIG. 28, in the event that thetermination requests REQt1 and REQt2 occur within the period from timet0 to time t1, and these are supplied to the control device 611 of thelocation information managing device 60, the control device 611 storesthe termination requests REQt1 and REQt2 in the buffer 613. In theperiod from time t0 to time t1, the cycle signal W is at the low level,so the termination requests REQt1 and REQt2 are written to the storagearea B of the buffer 613. Upon reaching the time t1, the control device611 reads out the termination requests REQt1 and REQt2 from the storagearea B.

Then, the second location table TBL2 is searched with the terminalidentification number IDm1 indicated by the termination request REQt1,thereby obtaining the moving unit terminal identification number IDt.Next, the second location table TBL2 is searched with the terminalidentification number IDm2 indicated by the termination request REQt2 asa key, thereby obtaining the moving unit terminal identification numberIDt. In this case, the termination request REQt1 corresponds to themobile communication terminal 1-1, while the termination request REQt2corresponds to the mobile communication terminal 1-2, so in the eventthat the stored contents of the second location table TBL2 are thoseshown in FIG. 22, the results of the searches indicate the same movingunit identification number IDt “A01234”.

Accordingly, the control device 611 recognizes that the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 are subordinate to the same relaydevice 21, and make these the object of an en bloc paging request REQcx.Next, the control device 611 searches the first location table TBL1 withthe moving unit identification number IDt “A01234” as a key, and thelocation registration area information “5A” is obtained. Subsequently,the control device 611 searches the database, and obtains theidentification number IDk of the switch 4 corresponding to the locationregistration area information “5A” and the identification number IDb ofthe base station group, and generates an en bloc paging request REQcx.The en bloc paging request REQcx in this example is that shown in FIG.29.

The en bloc paging request REQcx thus generated is, as shown in FIG. 27,sent by the route of the location information managing device 60→switch4→base station 3→relay device 21 (step S121 through S123). Subsequently,at the relay device 21, the en bloc paging request REQcx isreconfigured, and an paging request REQc1 to the mobile communicationterminal 1-1 and an paging request REQc2 to the mobile communicationterminal 1-2 are generated (step S124). As shown in FIG. 30, the pagingrequest REQc1 in this example contains the moving unit identificationnumber IDt “A01234” and the terminal identification number IDm1 “X00001”of the mobile communication terminal 1-1, while the paging request REQc2contains the moving unit identification number IDt “A01234” and theterminal identification number IDm2 “X00002” of the mobile communicationterminal 1-2.

Next, upon the paging requests REQc1 and REQc2 being transmitted to themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 (steps S125 and S126), themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 generate paging responsesRESc1 and RESc2. The paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 are then sent bythe route of the relay device 21→base station 3→switch 4→locationinformation managing device 60 (step S127 through S134). That is, inthis example, the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 are returned via therelay device 21. As described above, the relay device 21 performscommunication with the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 withinthe moving unit 2. Accordingly, the mobile communication terminals 1-1and 1-2 transmit the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 to the relaydevice 21 using a smaller transmission power than when performingcommunication with the base station 3.

Subsequently, the location information managing device 60 performsverification processing of the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and1-2, and upon the validity thereof being verified, notifies the switch 4regarding which base station 3 the mobile communication terminals 1-1and 1-2 are contained in, and communication is established at the switch4.

As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, in the eventthat there are terminations at plural mobile communication terminalsbelonging under the relay device 21 within a predetermined time, an enbloc paging request REQcx consolidating plural paging requests REQc isused for paging processing, so the number of times of transmission ofthe paging request and the amount of signals can be reduced from theperspective of the mobile communication network NET. For example, in theevent that there are terminations at an n number of mobile communicationterminals 1 within a predetermined time, the number of transmissions canbe reduced to 1/n.

Consequently, the wireless channels and resources of the mobilecommunication network NET can be used effectively, and communicationtraffic can be markedly reduced.

<7-3: Modification of Seventh Embodiment>

<7-3-1: Modification 1>

In the above-described seventh embodiment, the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 return the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 viathe relay device 21, but an arrangement may be made wherein the mobilecommunication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 return the paging responses RESc1and RESc2 to the base station 3 directly.

FIG. 31 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of a mobilecommunication system relating to the en bloc paging request REQcx andpaging responses RESc according to the modification 1. The processingwherein the en bloc paging request REQcx is generated at the locationinformation managing device 60 and then transmitted to the relay device21 (steps S120 through S123), and the processing for transferring thepaging responses RESc1 and RESc2 from the base station 3 to the locationinformation managing device 60 (steps 131 through S134) are the same asthe processing of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 7, so descriptionthereof will be omitted.

In the modification 1, upon the relay device 21 receiving the en blocpaging request REQcx, the relay device 21 combines the identificationnumber IDb of the base station 3 contained in the en bloc paging requestREQcx and the terminal identification numbers IDm1 and IDm2 of themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, thereby generating thepaging requests REQc1 and REQc2 (Steps S140 and S142). In this case, thepaging requests REQc1 and REQc2 output from the relay device 21 are suchas shown in FIG. 32.

Accordingly, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 can know theidentification number IDb of the base station 3 in which they arecontained, so as to generate paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 containingthe identification number IDb and the terminal identification numbersIDm1 and IDm2, which are returned to the base station 3 (steps S143 andS144).

According to this modification 1, the mobile communication terminals 1-1and 1-2 receive paging requests REQc1 and REQc2 via the relay device 21,but transmit the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 to the base station 3,so there is no need to perform control for weakening the transmissionpower. In other words, conventional mobile communication terminals 1 canbe used.

<7-3-2: Modification 2>

In the above-described seventh embodiment, the relay device 21 returnsthe paging responses RESc1 and RESc2, but an arrangement may be madewherein the relay device 21 consolidates these to generate an en blocpaging response REScx, which is returned.

In this example, the signal processing unit 217 of the relay device 21comprises a storing unit for storing the paging responses RESctransmitted from the mobile terminals, a timer unit for measuringpredetermined time, and a control unit for controlling the storing unitand the timer unit.

FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram indicating the operations of the mobilecommunication system relating to the en bloc paging request and en blocpaging response according to the modification 2. The processing from theen bloc paging request REQcx being generated at the location informationmanaging device 60 through the processing of the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 returning the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2(steps S120 through S128) is the same as the processing of the seventhembodiment shown in FIG. 27, so description thereof will be omitted.

In the modification 2, upon the relay device 21 receiving the pagingresponses RESc1 and RESc2, the relay device 21 generates an en blocpaging response REScx based on the identification numbers IDm1 and IDm2contained in the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 (step S150).Specifically, the control unit of the signal processing unit 217 storesthe paging responses RESc in the storing unit, reads out the pagingresponses RESc from the storing unit every predetermined time measuredby the timer unit, and temporarily erases the stored contents of thestoring unit. Then, the control unit generates an en bloc pagingresponse REScx, based on the terminal identification numbers IDmcontained in the paging responses RESc and the moving unitidentification number IDt that has been read out. The en bloc pagingresponse REScx in this example contains the moving unit identificationnumber IDt and the terminal identification numbers IDm1 and IDm2 of themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2.

Subsequently, upon the relay device 21 transmitting an en bloc pagingresponse REScx to the switch 4 via the base station 3 (steps S151 andS152), the switch 4 reconfigures the en bloc paging response REScx (stepS153), generates the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2, and transmitsthese to the location information managing device 60 (steps S154 andS155).

According to this modification 2, an en bloc paging response REScxconsolidating plural paging responses RESc is used, so the number oftimes of transmission and the amount of signals can be reduced. Inaddition, the en bloc paging response REScx is converted into pluralpaging responses RESc at the switch 4, so the location informationmanaging device 60 only needs to handle normal paging responses RESc.

8. Eighth Embodiment

With the mobile communication system according to the seventhembodiment, a subordinate relation is formed between the relay device 21and the mobile communication terminals 1 contained in the moving unit 2.Considering the subordination relation as a parent-child relation, therelay device 21 is equivalent to a parent for bringing a mobilecommunication terminal 1 into subordination, and the mobilecommunication terminal 1 is equivalent to a child which is subordinateto the relay device 21. Here, becoming a parent was restricted to therelay device 21. Conversely, with the mobile communication systemaccording to the eighth embodiment, each mobile communication terminal 1may become either a parent or a child, and freely structuresubordination relations.

<8-1: Overview of the Mobile Communication System>

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the mobilecommunication system according to the eighth embodiment. With thisexample, an automobile is assumed as the moving unit 2. Also, the movingunit 2 contains mobile communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3.Further, these mobile communication terminals 1-1 are grouped, so thatof these, the mobile communication terminal 1-1 represents the mobilecommunication terminals 1-2 and 1-3 and receives en bloc responserequests REQcx and also generates plural response requests REQc based onthe en bloc response request REQcx. That is to say, the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 also functions as the above-described relaydevice 21, in addition to functioning as a communication terminal. Inthe following description, a mobile communication terminal functioningas a relay device 21 will be referred to as a representative mobilecommunication terminal, and the terminal identification number IDm therepresentative mobile communication terminal as a representativeterminal identification number IDm′.

<8-2: First and Second Location Tables>

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating the stored contents of the first andsecond location tables TBL1 and TBL2 according to the eighth embodiment.In this example, the representative terminal identification number IDm′of the representative mobile communication terminal 1-1 is “X00001”, theterminal identification number IDm of the mobile communication terminal1-2 is “X00002”, and the terminal identification number IDm of themobile communication terminal 1-3 is “X00003”.

First, the first location table TBL1 stores the representative terminalidentification number IDm′ and the location registration areainformation of the corresponding representative mobile communicationterminal, in a correlated manner. Next, the second location table TBL2stores the terminal identification numbers IDm and the locationregistration area information, in a correlated manner. Note, however,that in the event that a mobile communication terminal 1 is subordinateto the representative mobile communication terminal, the representativeterminal identification number IDm′ is stored instead of the locationregistration area information.

In this example, the moving unit 2 belongs to the location registrationarea 5A, so the representative terminal identification number IDm′“X00001” and the location registration area “5A” are stored in therecord Ra1 of the first location table TBL1. On the other hand, theterminal identification number IDm “X00002” and the representativeterminal identification number IDm′ “X00001” are stored in the recordRb1 of the second location table TBL2, and the terminal identificationnumber IDm “X00003” and the representative terminal identificationnumber IDm′ “X00001” are stored in the record Rb2. The record Ra1 of thefirst location table TBL1 and the records Rb1 and Rb2 of the secondlocation table TBL2 are correlated with the representative terminalidentification number IDm′ “X00001” as a key.

That is to say, the first and second location tables TBL1 and TBL2according to the eighth embodiment are the same as the first and secondlocation tables TBL1 and TBL2 except for the point that therepresentative terminal identification number is stored instead of themoving unit identification number IDt.

However, in the event of grouping plural mobile communication terminalsaround the representative mobile communication terminal, there is theneed to register the subordination relation in the first and secondlocation tables TBL1 and TBL2. There are various ways of registering. Afirst method is to automatically form a group following predeterminedrules, the representative mobile communication terminal generating ahierarchy registration request containing the representative terminalidentification number IDm′ and the terminal identification numbers IDmof the subordinate mobile communication terminals, and transmitting thisto the location information managing device 60 via the base station 3and switch station 4. Also, a second method is for the users to discussone with another, transmit a message indicating that a certain mobilecommunication terminal is to serve as the representative mobilecommunication terminal from that mobile communication terminal, transmitfrom a mobile communication terminal subordinate thereto a set of therepresentative IDm′ (phone number) of the representative mobilecommunication terminal and the terminal identification number IDm of themobile communication terminal, and register this with the locationinformation managing device 60.

On the other hand, in the event of releasing the subordination relation,a release request can be transmitted to the location informationmanaging device 60 using the same method, updating the stored contentsof the first location table TBL1 and the second location table TBL2.

<8-3: En Bloc Paging Request>

Next, the control device 611 of the location information managing device60 generates an en bloc paging request REQcx in the same manner as withthe seventh embodiment. In this case, the control device 611 uses therepresentative terminal identification number IDm′ instead of the movingunit identification number IDt to generate the en bloc paging requestREQcx. That is, the en bloc paging request REQcx according to the eighthembodiment has the moving unit identification number IDt making up theen bloc paging request REQcx shown in FIG. 23 replaced with therepresentative terminal identification number IDm′.

In the above configuration, the operations of the mobile communicationsystem regarding the en bloc paging request REQcx and paging responsesREQc are the same as the sequences shown in FIG. 27, FIG. 31, and FIG.33, described with the seventh embodiment, with the relay device 21replaced with the representative mobile communication terminal 1-1.Accordingly, even in cases of using a certain mobile communicationterminal 1 as a representative mobile communication terminal, so thenumber of times of transmission and the amount of signals relating topaging requests REQc can be reduced as with the seventh embodiment, sotraffic can be reduced.

9. Ninth Embodiment

<9-1: Configuration of the Ninth Embodiment>

The overall configuration of the mobile communication system accordingto the ninth embodiment of the present invention is basically the sameas the overall configuration of the mobile communication systemaccording to the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 20. The configurationof the moving unit 2 in the mobile communication system according to thepresent embodiment is also of the same configuration as that of theseventh embodiment.

The location information managing device 60 in the mobile communicationsystem according to the present embodiment comprise a first locationtable TBL1 and second location table TBL2, as with the seventhembodiment. The configurations of the first location table TBL1 andsecond location table TBL2 are the same as with the seventh embodiment.

As with a normal mobile communication system, in the event that there isa termination request bound for a moving unit terminal existing in therange of a certain base station 3, the termination request is sent to aswitch 4 connected to the base station 3. The termination requests boundfor the moving unit terminals in the range of the base stations underthe switch 4 are sent to this switch. These termination requests containa moving unit terminal identification number for determining the movingunit terminal as the destination thereof. Upon receiving such astermination request, the switch 4 sends an inquiry regarding thelocation of the moving unit terminal which is the destination of thetermination request to the location information managing device 60. Thisinquiry contains the moving unit terminal identification number of themoving unit terminal which is to be located.

Upon receiving an inquiry containing the terminal identification numberIDm, the location information managing device 60 searches the secondlocation table TBL2 with the terminal identification number contained inthe received inquiry as a key, thereby obtaining a moving unitidentification number IDt or location registration area information. Inthe event that a moving unit terminal identification number IDt isobtained, the first location table TBL1 is then searched with theobtained moving unit terminal identification number IDt as a key,thereby obtaining location registration area information. The locationinformation managing device 60 returns the received terminalidentification number IDm, the obtained moving unit terminalidentification number IDt (only in the event that this has been obtainedas the result of a search), and the location registration areainformation, to the switch 4 which has placed the inquiry.

The switch 4 in the mobile communication system according to the presentembodiment comprises an paging request generating device 610 forgenerating en bloc paging requests based on the information beingreturned in such a manner. The paging request generating device 610comprises a control device 611, a timer circuit 612, and a buffer 613.The configuration of the components is the same as that described withthe seventh embodiment.

<9-2: Operations of the Ninth Embodiment>

<9-2-1: Hierarchical Location Registration>

The operations of en bloc location registration in the mobilecommunication system according to the present embodiment are the same asthose of the hierarchical location registration of the seventhembodiment shown in FIG. 26.

<9-2-2: En Bloc Paging Request and Paging Response>

The operations of the paging request generating device 610 of the switchin the mobile communication system according to the present embodimentare as described next. Here, let us say that the switch 4-1 receives atermination request REQt1 to the mobile communication terminal 1-1 and atermination request REQt2 to the mobile communication terminal 1-2within a predetermined time, and at the time that the switch 4-1transmits an en bloc paging request REQcx and at the time that themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 transmit paging requestresponses RESc1 and RESc2, the mobile communication terminals 1-1 and1-2 are subordinate to the relay device 21 in the same moving unit 2within the base station area 4 c.

Upon receiving the termination request REQt1 and the termination requestREQt2, the paging request generating device 610 in the switch 4-1 storesthe termination requests REQt in the buffer 613. After a predeterminedamount of time elapses, the en bloc paging request generating device 610sends an inquiry containing the terminal identification number IDm1which the termination request REQt1 indicates, to the locationinformation managing device 60, thereby obtaining the moving unitidentification number IDt and the location registration areainformation. Next, the paging request generating device 610 sends aninquiry containing the terminal identification number IDm2 which thetermination request REQt2 indicates, to the location informationmanaging device 60, thereby obtaining the moving unit identificationnumber IDt and the location registration area information.

Assuming that the stored contents of the first location table TBL1 andthe second location table TBL2 are those shown in FIG. 22, the first andsecond searches obtain the same moving unit identification number IDt“A01234” and the same location registration area information “5A”.

Thus, the paging request generating device 610 recognizes that themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 are subordinate to the relaydevice 21 having the same moving unit identification number IDt“A01234”, and makes these the object of an en bloc paging request REQcx.

Next, the paging request generating device 610 searches the database,obtains the identification number IDb of the base station 3 groupcorresponding to the location registration area information “5A”, andgenerates an en bloc paging request REQcx. The en bloc paging requestREQcx output in this example contains the identification number IDk ofthe switch 4, the identification number IDb of the base station group,the moving unit identification number IDt, and the terminalidentification numbers IDm1 and IDm2.

The en bloc paging request REQcx thus generated is transmitted from thepaging request generating device 610 of the switch 4-1 to the basestations 3 (3-1, 3-2, 3-3) which the switch 4-1 governs. Next, the basestations 3 (3-1, 3-2, 3-3) transmit the en bloc paging request REQcxwithin the respective base station areas (4 a, 4 b, 4 c). In the case ofthis example, the relay device 21 of the moving unit 2 located in thebase station area 4 c receives the en bloc paging request REQcxtransmitted by the base station 3-3.

Subsequently, the relay device 21 restructures the en bloc pagingrequest REQcx, and generates an paging request REQc1 to the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 and an paging request REQc2 to the mobilecommunication terminal 1-2.

Next, upon the paging requests REQc1 and REQc2 being transmitted to themobile communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2, the mobile communicationterminals 1-1 and 1-2 generate paging responses RESc1 and RESc2. Then,the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 are sent in the order of relaydevice 21→base station 3-3→switch 4-1→paging request generating device610. That is, in this example, the paging responses RESc1 and RESc2 arereturned via the relay device 21.

Upon receiving the paging request responses corresponding to the pagingrequests stored in the buffer 613, the paging request generating device610 deletes the corresponding paging requests from the buffer 613.

<9-3: Modification of Ninth Embodiment>

In the above-described ninth embodiment, the paging request generatingdevice 610 is installed in the switch 4, but an arrangement may be madewherein the paging request generating device 610 is installed in thebase station 3.

Generating paging requests with the present modification differs fromthe above ninth embodiment only in that the paging request generatingdevice 610 transmits inquiry information to the location informationmanaging device 60 via the switch 4, and receives responses to theinquiries via the switch 4.

10. Modifications

The first through ninth embodiments have been described above, but thepresent invention is not restricted to these, and the variousmodifications described below may be made, for example.

(1) The present invention is not restricted to the mobile communicationsystem shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 20, and FIG. 34, and is applicable tomobile communication networks of other forms. For example, this isapplicable to a mobile communication system which is managed in anautonomous scattered manner with plural nodes (including switches),instead of centrally managing location information with the locationinformation managing device 60.

(2) Also, though with the above-described first embodiment, theautomatic detection of the moving unit 2 is enabled due to advertisementfrom the relay device 21 of the moving unit 2, but the mobilecommunication terminal 1 may be configured such that, in the event thatthe user has recognized the moving unit 2, the user can manually performregistration/cancellation of hierarchical location registration.

(3) Also, though with the above-described second embodiment, thehighest-order mobile communication terminal 1 registers the lower orderterminal managing table 731 with the location information managingdevice 60, it is needless to say that the mobile communication terminals1 may each register the lower order terminal managing table 731 with thelocation information managing device 60.

(4) Though with the above-described third embodiment, a hierarchicallocation registration release is constantly transmitted from the mobilecommunication terminal 1-1 to the location information managing device60 in the hierarchical location registration releasing procedures, inthe event that updating of the location registration area information atthe mobile communication terminal 1-1 managed by the locationinformation managing device 60 is unnecessary and the location of themoving unit 2 can be determined by the base station 3-4 and the switch4-2, the hierarchical location registration release request may betransmitted from such a node to the moving unit 2 to release thesubordination relation.

(5) Though with the hierarchical location registration releasingprocedures in the above-described first embodiment, hierarchicallocation registration releasing is performed from the mobilecommunication terminals 1 to the location information managing device60, an arrangement may be made which is the same as the hierarchicallocation registration releasing procedures according to the thirdembodiment, wherein the reception level of the moving unit advertisementinformation is monitored at the mobile communication terminal 1, and thehierarchical location registration releasing procedures are performed asto the moving unit 2 in the event that the reception level is at orlower than the threshold value, thereby aggregating the hierarchicallocation registration releases of plural mobile communication terminals1 at the moving unit 2, and transmitting these to the locationinformation managing device 60.

(6) Though with the above-described first and fourth embodiments, thehierarchical relation is managed by both the mobile communicationnetwork NET and the relay device 21, the present invention is notrestricted to this, and may be made to manage the hierarchical relationswith the mobile communication network NET alone.

In this case, the procedures for registering the hierarchical relationsto the mobile communication network NET (location information managingdevice 60) may be the same as the procedures for hierarchical locationregistration described with the first embodiment, or may be arrangedsuch that the relay device 21 functions as a simple relay device forairwaves and the mobile communication terminals 1 each transmit andregister their own terminal identification numbers individually to themobile communication network NET via the relay device. Also, with regardto releasing of hierarchy registration as well, the relay device 21 maybe made to function as a simple relay device for airwaves, such that themobile communication terminals 1 transmit their terminal identificationnumbers individually to the mobile communication network NET, therebyreleasing the hierarchical relation. Or, an arrangement may be madewherein the mobile communication terminals 1 directly transmithierarchical release requests to the mobile communication network NET.

Further, updating of the location registration area informationfollowing the mobile communication terminal 1 belonging to a certainmoving unit (relay device 21) may be performed in the same manner aswith the first or fourth embodiments.

(7) Though with the above-described second and fifth embodiments, aparent mobile communication terminal 1 uses a lower order terminalmanaging table 731 to manage all mobile communication terminals 1belonging to a lower-order hierarchical level, the present invention isnot restricted to this, and an arrangement may be made wherein theparent mobile communication terminal 1 stores the terminalidentification number of the child mobile communication terminal 1 andmanages the parent-child relation, but does not store the terminalidentification number of the grandchild mobile communication terminal 1.In this case, the mobile communication terminal 1 serving as a child maynotify the terminal identification number to the mobile communicationterminal serving as the parent, with the mobile communication terminal 1serving as the parent storing the received terminal identificationnumber in the storing unit.

(8) Also, though with the above-described second and fifth embodiments,the hierarchical relation is managed by both the mobile communicationnetwork NET and the relay device 21, the present invention is notrestricted to this, and the hierarchical relation may be managed by themobile communication terminal 1 alone. In this case, the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1 manages only the parent-child relation byreceiving the notification of the terminal identification number fromthe child mobile communication terminal 1 and storing it. Or, the parentmobile communication terminal 1 may manage all mobile communicationterminals 1 belonging to lower-order hierarchical levels using the lowerorder terminal managing table 731.

Also, releasing of the hierarchical relation may be made by mobilecommunication terminal 1 serving as the child notifying the mobilecommunication terminal 1 serving as a parent with a hierarchy releaserequest containing its own terminal identification number, so that themobile communication terminal 1 serving as the parent deletes theterminal identification number of the child from the storing unit. Or,the hierarchical relation may be released by the following procedures.First, the mobile communication terminal 1 transmits a hierarchy releaserequest containing its own terminal identification number and theterminal identification number of the parent to the mobile communicationnetwork NET. Next, upon receiving the hierarchy release request, thelocation information managing device 60 determines the locationregistration area of the parent terminal based on the terminalidentification number of the parent contained therein, and transmits thehierarchy release request to this location registration area. Next, uponreceiving the hierarchy release request, the parent mobile communicationterminal 1 deletes the terminal identification number of the child formthe storing unit thereof.

Now, the hierarchical relation is not registered with the mobilecommunication network NET even after the hierarchical relation isregistered with the parent mobile communication terminal 1, so there isthe need to update the location registration area information regardingall mobile communication terminals 1. However, the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1 aggregates the location registration requestsof the child mobile communication terminal 1 and the parent mobilecommunication terminal 1, and transmits an en bloc location registrationrequest to the mobile communication network NET. This en bloc locationregistration request contains the location registration areainformation, the terminal identification number of the parent, and theterminal identification number of the child.

(9) Though description has been made regarding a two-level hierarchicalstructure between a relay device 21 and mobile communication terminal 1in the above-described seventh embodiment, or between a representativemobile communication terminal and a mobile communication terminal 1 inthe eighth embodiment, the present invention is not restricted to this,and may be applied to mobile communication terminals having athree-level or higher hierarchical structure.

In this case, a location table matching the number of hierarchicallevels is prepared at the location information managing device 60. Forexample, in order to have an n-level hierarchical structure, firstthrough n'th location table may be used and the tables may be linked.

(10) Also, with the mobile communication system according to theabove-described seventh through ninth embodiments, in the event thatthere is no paging response RESc from a subordinate mobile communicationterminal 1 in response to an paging request REQc from the relay device21 or representative mobile communication terminal, the paging requestREQc may be re-sent between the relay device 21 or representative mobilecommunication terminal and the subordinate mobile communication terminal1. Thus, once the mobile communication network NET transmits the en blocpaging request REQcx to the relay device 21 or representative mobilecommunication terminal, there is no need for re-sending, so the pagingtraffic can be reduced.

(11) Also, with the above-described mobile communication systemaccording to the above-described seventh through ninth embodiments, thetransmission power of subordinate mobile communication terminals can beset low by causing the relay device 21 or representative mobilecommunication terminal to relay communications even after communicationhas been established.

(12) Additionally, with the above-described seventh through ninthembodiments, the relay device 21 or representative mobile communicationterminal reconstructs en bloc paging requests to generate the pagingrequests to each of the mobile communication terminals, but the presentinvention is not restricted to this, and it is needless to say that therelay device 21 or representative mobile communication terminal may bemade to function as a simple relay device, and transmit the en blocpaging requests to the subordinate mobile communication terminals. Inthis case, the mobile communication terminals first each judge whetheror not its own terminal identification number is contained in the enbloc paging request, and second, in the event that it is containedtherein, detects that there has been an paging request, and generates anpaging response, which is transmitted to the relay device 21 orrepresentative mobile communication terminal.

(13) Further, with the above-described seventh and eighth embodiments,the identification number IDk of the switch or the identification numberIDb of the base station are contained in the en bloc paging requestREQcx, but the functions of the en bloc paging request REQcx are toperform paging of the moving unit 2 (relay device 21) or the mobilecommunication terminals 1 subordinate to the representative mobilecommunication terminal. Accordingly, an en bloc paging request REQcxwhich omits the identification number IDk of the switch or theidentification number IDb of the base station may be used. For example,an arrangement may be used wherein the base stations 3 use controlchannels of different frequencies to transmit the en bloc pagingrequests REQcx to the relay device 21 or representative mobilecommunication terminal, with the receiving side determining the basestation 3 based on the frequency of the control channel.

1. A mobile terminal registrable with a wireless communication networkthat comprises at least one communication area, comprising: a signalreceiver configured to receive a first advertisement signal from thewireless communication network and a second advertisement signal from amobile node; a first registration control responsive to the firstadvertisement signal to determine a communication area in which themobile terminal is situated and register the mobile terminal as beingindependent in the wireless communication network, whereby the mobileterminal becomes locatable in connection with the determinedcommunication area; a second registration control responsive to thesecond advertisement signal to reconfigure the mobile terminal as asubordinate to the mobile node, wherein the second registration controldisables the first registration control and requests the mobile node toregister the mobile node as being subordinate to the mobile node in thewireless communication network, whereby the mobile terminal becomeslocatable in connection with a communication area in which the mobilenode is situated; and a release control responsive to fading receptionof the second advertisement signal to enable the first registrationcontrol and send a release request to cause the mobile terminal to bereleased from registration as being subordinate to the wireless node inthe wireless communication network.
 2. A mobile terminal according toclaim 1, wherein the mobile node is another mobile terminal.
 3. A mobileterminal according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of mobile terminalsform superior/subordinate relations in multiple tiers.
 4. A mobileterminal according to claim 3, wherein a superior/subordinate relationbetween two mobile terminals is determined automatically between the twomobile terminals.
 5. A mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein asuperior/subordinate relation between two mobile terminals is determinedbased on identifications of the mobile terminals.
 6. A mobile terminalaccording to claim 1, wherein the release control sends the releaserequest directly to the wireless communication network.
 7. A mobileterminal according to claim 1, wherein the release control first sendsthe release request to the mobile node, which relays the request to thewireless communication network and, if the mobile node does not respondto the release request, sends the release request directly to thewireless communication network.
 8. A mobile proxy device registrable ina wireless communication network that comprises at least onecommunication area, comprising: a signal receiver configured to receivea first advertisement signal from the wireless communication network anddetermine, based on the received first advertisement signal, acommunication area in which the proxy device is situated; a terminalprobe configured to transmit a second advertisement signal to find ifthere is a mobile terminal responding to the second advertisementsignal; a registration control configured to register, in the wirelesscommunication network, the proxy device, along with the found mobileterminal as being subordinate to the proxy device, whereby the proxydevice and the mobile terminal become locatable in connection with thedetermined communication area; and a downstream message controlconfigured to receive a message from the wireless communication networkwhich is directed to a plurality of mobile terminals subordinate to theproxy device and deliver sub-messages created based on the message tothe plurality of subordinate mobile terminals, respectively.
 9. A mobileproxy device according to claim 8, wherein the registration controlregisters the proxy device and the found mobile terminal in response todetermination by the signal receiver of an entry of the proxy deviceinto a new communication area.
 10. A mobile proxy device according toclaim 8, wherein the sub-messages are paging messages to the subordinatemobile terminals.
 11. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8,further comprising an upstream message control configured to combinemessages from the subordinate mobile terminals into a collective messageand send the collective message to the wireless communication network.12. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8, wherein the messagesfrom the subordinate mobile terminals are responses to paging messagesto the mobile terminals.
 13. A wireless communication network comprisedof at least one communication area, comprising: a receiver configured toreceive a registration request that identifies a communication area anda group of mobile nodes bound by a set of superior/subordinaterelations; a registration request control configured to store in amemory identifications of the group of mobile nodes in connection withthe communication area and their superior/subordinate relations; apaging request control configured to receive paging requests identifyingmobile nodes in the group and search the memory to determine acommunication area stored in the memory in connection with the mobilenodes identified by the paging requests; and a paging message controlconfigured to compose one collective paging message addressed to themobile nodes identified by the paging requests and cause the collectivepaging message to be sent out to the determined communication area. 14.A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein themobile nodes comprise a mobile telephone.
 15. A wireless communicationnetwork according to claim 13, wherein one of the mobile nodes is amobile proxy device.
 16. A wireless communication network according toclaim 13, wherein the memory comprises two sets of tables, one set oftables comprises at least one table that identifies the group of mobilenodes and the set of superior/subordinate relations, and the other setof tables comprises at least one table that identifies the mobile nodesin connection with the communication area.
 17. A wireless communicationnetwork according to claim 13, wherein the set of superior/subordinaterelations comprises at least one tier of superior/subordinate relation,and the memory comprises sets of tables, each set corresponds to onetier of superior/subordinate relation and comprises at least one tablethat shows mobile nodes which belong to the one tier.
 18. A wirelesscommunication network according to claim 13, wherein the memorycomprises one table that identifies the mobile nodes in connection withthe communication area and the set of superior/subordinate relations.19. A wireless communication network according to claim 15, wherein thememory comprises two tables in which a first table identifies the proxydevice in connection with the communication area and a second tableidentifies mobile nodes subordinate to the proxy device in connectionwith the proxy device.
 20. A wireless communication network according toclaim 13, wherein the paging request control stores a plurality ofpaging requests received for a period of time, and the paging messagecontrol composes at least one collective paging message from thereceived paging requests.